The European Commission has been called on by the IFA to support the beef sector following the widespread closure of food service outlets in Europe.

Yesterday a number of companies in Europe’s €600bn food service sector, including McDonald’s, Supermac’s, Subway, KFC and Starbucks, announced they would be closing for the foreseeable future due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Approximately 30% of all Irish beef exports are to this channel, which also includes caterers and restaurants.

Supports

IFA president Tim Cullinan says adjustments need to be made to EU market supports, such as intervention and aid to private storage, to ensure a realistic beef price support is provided.

He also said that all non-EU beef imports which do not meet EU standards should be suspended to protect the internal EU market.

Other measures sought by the IFA are:

  • Adjustments to state aid rules to give more flexibility to the Irish Government to support farmers.
  • Allocation of the necessary funding so the European Commission can provide additional direct payment supports to farmers to compensate for beef market losses.
  • A review of the inspection requirements so that all farmers can get all of their direct payments without any hold ups.

    • Retail

    Cullinan said the impact of food service outlet closures has been somewhat mitigated by an increase in retail sales.

    However, he added: “The Irish beef price is already well below the cost of production for farmers. They cannot sustain any further cuts.”

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