Michael Creed favours beef contracts, price reports
“We strongly support the use of contracts overall, particularly for winter finishers, although it is not clear that a mandatory regime would necessarily be in the best interest of all farmers,” he said in the Dail.
He was asked in the Dáil by Longford-Westmeath Labour TD Willie Penrose how the EU’s agricultural markets task force will help get a fairer price for Irish beef and lamb producers.
Mr Creed said the task force recommends mandatory price reporting for the meat industry.
“Ireland already reports beef, sheepmeat, pigmeat and poultry prices on a weekly basis, and my Department publishes a high volume of statistical data in these areas to its website in a clear and concise format.
“The data further up the supply chain is not as transparent.”
Meanwhile, he awaits a decision on EU funding for provision of advice to producer organisations and prospective producer organisations under Ireland’s rural development programme (RDP).
This request has been made to the European Commission in Ireland’s second RDP amendment, in connection with producer organisations in the beef sector, for which legislation was signed into law earlier this year.
Producer organisations will allow groups of farmers to come together to negotiate directly with factories, said Mr Creed.
