This article is from page 34 of the 2007-11-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 34 JPG
MANY Clare farmers will be forced out of the beef sector unless they receive a sustainable margin for their produce, according to Clare farmer and Chairperson of ICMSA’s Beef and Cattle Committee, Martin McMahon.
The O’Callaghan’s Mills man claimed last week that this will lead to many markets being closed off to Irish beef in the future.
He has called for an immediate rise in the beef prices as the only solution to the current problem.
At current prices, farmers fattening cattle are cross-subsidising that prac- tice with their Single Farm Payment
“This was the economics of the madhouse and farmers will simply cease to make that cross-subsidy and exit beef altogether,” he said.
“Beef production must be made viable in its own right and that demanded an immediate rise in cat- tle prices from the meat factories. Fattening cattle is currently a loss- making business and the whole fu- ture of this sector was now in ‘red alert’ territory.
“The facts of the situation are that
beef prices are now 16.8c/kg below what they were in October 2006 — that 1s equivalent to €60 per head. “We would also point out that an Irish steer is currently making €130 per head less than the same animal in the UK, while at the same time feed and other costs have also risen substantially during this period. “Given the gap in Irish and UK prices, it is quite clear that factories can pay more for cattle and if that means that meat processors must go to the retailers for increased returns, then that 1s what must happen if we are to truly reflect the economics
of beef production,’ Mr McMahon added.
“Our beef processors and retail- ers have a decision to make now on the future of our beef sector — raise prices and maintain their supply of cattle or do absolutely nothing and eliminate their 12 months’ supply of cattle.
“It’s “make-your-mind-up’ time on the future of the Irish beef sector. There is scope for increased prices at the present time and factories must immediately raise prices in order to secure the future of the Irish beef sector.”