Price differential between Irish and British beef cattle widens to €200
ICMSA Livestock Committee chairman Michael Guinan said the differential had increased since June and was totally unacceptable at a time when Irish beef producers are under enormous financial pressure.
He said it is obvious that the processors and retailers are sharing a bigger slice of the margin from Irish beef producers than their British counterparts.
Prices were beginning to strengthen in Britain in the last number of weeks. The average differential for heifers was 40c per kg in June and this has now risen to 56c per kg in August.
A similar trend has followed in steer beef with the differential rising from 44c to 59c per kg in that time.
Cumulatively, applying these price differentials to all heifers and steers slaughtered in Ireland during this three-month period, the total cost of the price gap to Irish beef farmers is over €9m, with €6m of this coming on the steer side.
Mr Guinan said these differentials represent the difference between making an income in 2014 from cattle rearing to making a financial loss.
