IFA president Tim Cullinan said meat factories need to “take the handbrake off beef prices”.

Speaking at a Beef Taskforce meeting in the Department of Agriculture on Thursday 25 June, Cullinan said prices needed to rise in line with rising market returns.

He pointed out that prices in the UK have increased by 40c/kg since 25 April, while Irish prices have only increased by 22c/kg.

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“The beef market in the UK, where we export most of our beef, is rising rapidly week on week while our prices are struggling to move on, as the factories keep the handbrake on the trade,” Cullinan said.

He added that beef finishers needed to know the details of the €50m scheme promised by the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed.

“The Minister for Agriculture needs to be strong and bluntly tell the beef factories and the retailers they must co-operate fully and provide all the required price and margin information for this important investigation,” Cullinan said.

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