Reluctance in Britain to change beef supply
When Bord Bia raised the subject of beef from Irish-born animals finished and slaughtered in Britain, representatives of the supermarkets said such a change could be confusing or misleading for their consumers, because of EU labelling constraints and the public debate on mislabelling in Britain.
The response reveals difficulties for those aiming to increase Irish live exports to the British mainland. Bord Bia got a more favourable response from small or medium-sized British abattoirs, which slaughter 30% of the cattle in Britain and mainly supply beef to retail butchers, food service and manufacturing channels.
Speaking to the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Bord Bia’s director of meat, Gerard Brickley, said the majority of representatives of small and medium-sized British abattoirs responded positively when questioned on their willingness to purchase Irish-born animals.
They were willing to buy these cattle, but typically pay 5p to 10p per kg less than the larger processing plants. Specifications, such as farm quality assurance and age restrictions, are not as strict in the smaller plants. “While many of those surveyed had not yet encountered Irish-born cattle coming from their suppliers, the vast majority stated that they would pay an equivalent price for these animals as for their domestic supplies. In the case of the small number who had already been slaughtering Irish-born cattle, they claimed to have paid the same price for these animals as for British-born animals. On checking with Irish suppliers, this was verified to be the case,” said Mr Brickley.
He said: “We telephoned 80 processing plants in the UK, of which 49 said they would have no problem taking Irish cattle. None of them referred to a problem with offal. I do not say it is not there, but they did not raise it and they told us they were willing to pay the same price they would for British cattle. “These plants are in a tier of 30% of production and they do not have access to the multiple retailers. The multiple retailers are the largest single group of buyers and they are the most dominant in the market. They have a system whereby they currently identify two origins: origin Ireland and origin UK. We have approached them and asked if they would consider an alternative, because British farmers, fatteners, now have fewer cattle going through the system.
“Their own supplies are declining and they need throughput. They have declined our suggestion and have told us they are happy with their current system, as it is simple and they know it works. They do not wish to go through all the separate labelling system associated with our suggestion,” he said.
