IFA livestock committee chair Henry Burns said the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney made it very clear to meat factories at yesterday’s Beef Forum meeting that there can be no dual base pricing for steers or heifers in individual processing plants by breed, age, weight or quality assurance status under the Quality Payment System (QPS).

Burns added that it is now up to the minister to insist the factories honour this and that there can be no weight penalties under the QPS.

The IFA raised the issue of a lack of price competition in the beef sector at yesterday’s meeting. The widening gap between Irish and UK cattle prices is unacceptable, he said. Over the past 12 months, the differential between the Irish and British price has risen and stands at €1.11/kg, or €400 on a typical animal.

While the Irish price is equivalent to last year, the British price in euro terms has increased by 35c/kg.

Stronger returns

Burns, who has become the most recent candidate to throw his hat into the race for the IFA presidency, added that the evidence presented by Bord Bia to the minister, farmers and factories at the meeting made it clear that cattle prices should rise to reflect the much stronger returns from our largest export market.

Burns also said that winter finishers are in a loss-making situation and this position is unsustainable. He added that Minister Coveney has to be much more active in supporting the live export trade and securing access to our nearest and highest priced market in Northern Ireland and Britain.

He said it is unacceptable that Irish livestock farmers are being denied price competition through the manipulation of EU labelling rules by processors and retailers.