This article is from page 59 of the 2007-05-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 59 JPG
BEEF factories are coming under increasing pressure to increase the price being offered to farmers with a farmers’ ‘hold back’ now a serious possibility.
The IFA National Livestock Com- mittee Chairman, John Bryan, com- mented last week that in over two years he had not witnessed as much anger against the meat factories in the severe way they had blackguard- ed winter finishers this spring.
“The factories’ latest moves this week to cut prices was a real kick in the teeth to winter finishers who have
endured losses of in excess of €100 per head this winter,” he said.
‘At a time when prices were rising in our main market in the UK, it was a scandal that Irish factories were at- tempting to cut prices. It is an even bigger scandal that some factories are importing cattle and telling their farmer clients that they must cut the eon
The UK market is returning the equivalent of €3.24/kg (116p/Ib) or 95 per head more than Irish prices. The IFA livestock leader commented that winter finishers had provided an all-year-round beef supply at very high costs to enable factories to serv-
ice high-priced consumer markets. The response from the factories now is to take advantage of the situation for their own gain.
Meanwhile, the ICSA beef chair- man Robin Smith has warned that midlands farmers may be tempted to hold back their cattle until prices steady a bit. “Prices in the mid- lands are back a penny this week, to €2.80/kg for Os and €2.94/kg for Rs. Yet when you look towards Donegal, better prices are available. These signs of hope from Donegal may very well encourage other farm- ers to hang on a bit longer.”
The ICSA has also laid the blame
for the low prices square at the feet of the EU.
“The low prices being quoted to Irish farmers over recent months is a direct result of EU negligence,” says ICSA President Malcolm Thompson. “Over 270,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef were imported into the EU last year, and this sub-standard product is having a huge effect on Irish beef prices. However, this figure is likely to be up substantially in 2007. In March, for example, Brazilian beef exports globally were up 33 per cent year-on-year. The USDA has also forecast a significant increase in Bra- Zilian beef exports.”