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THE IFA has reignited the war of words between farmers and factories this week by launching a blistering attack on the beef factories for the price paid to winter finishers.
IFA President, Padraig Walshe, lashed factories, describing it as “an outright disgrace and a body blow” inflicted by factories on the coun- try’s best and most committed beef producers.
Beef finishers have taken a ham- mering this spring and there was now a serious question mark over beef factories’ commitment to a 52-
week supply from Irish farmers.
The IFA President said the big play- ers now had significant investment in Brazil and he was highly suspicious that price manipulation was taking place, not just in the Irish market, but across Europe including Italy, which has always been a high-priced outlet for beef and cattle.
‘Factories that had talked up cat- tle prices in November and Decem- ber were now gone to ground and messing farmers around getting cat- tle killed, and at bad prices,” said Walshe.
“Tam so angry at factories that to- day I have called on Minister Cough-
lan to put a stay on the €50 million government grants she announced for the industry some weeks ago, un- til law and order 1s restored.
“T am demanding that the Depart- ment of Agriculture publish the weekly kill for each factory. This in- formation is available in the Depart- ment and I’ve repeatedly asked for it to be published in the interests of transparency.
“The Minister for Agriculture must stop the foot—dragging. If factories have nothing to hide, then the figures will make it quite clear that the beef leaving the plant was slaughtered under the supervision of the Depart-
ment’s vets in that plant.”
The IFA President said that unless the meat factory owners put forward real and coherent marketing plans to lift the price of Irish beef, there is no reason the government should fund their Irish plants and allow them in- vest their own capital in Brazil.
“IT am also calling on the Minister to ban trade in imported beef by li- censed exporters to preserve the integrity and good name of Irish beef, both at home and in our export markets. A factory with an export h- cence should not be allowed import or handle South American beef on the same premises,’ he added.