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The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) has accused beef factories of “fleecing farmers” and called for an explanation of the €1/kg price differential between Irish and UK beef prices.
ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham called on the meat factories and Bord Bia to explain how the €1/kg differential for prime cattle can be justified.
“This shows that factories are fleecing farmers. This differential is the highest in living memory and comes at a time when prices on the continent are moving upwards. In fact, our price for prime beef (heifers, steers, young bulls) is now a good 30c/kg behind the EU average,” he said.
Costs
Graham pointed out that the beef price differential comes at a time when “costs are on a completely different level to a few years ago”.
“If that was not enough, farmers are being asked to do more and more on climate and other environmental indicators.
“The reality is that there is now no hope of asking beef farmers to do anything in terms of lowering the age of slaughter because factories just keep fleecing them at every available opportunity,” he said.
The ICSA beef chair described the price differential as a “now low”.
“ICSA is calling for an explanation for this. ICSA is also writing to the new Food Regulator to look into how such a differential can be justified,” he added.
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