Farmers do not believe that there is adequate price competition in the beef sector, and this must be tackled, IFA livestock chair Angus Woods told the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) last week.

At a meeting with senior CCPC officials, he made it very clear that it is their responsibility to guarantee robust competition in the beef processing sector.

“Farmers have seen no evidence from the CCPC that they are prepared to take any action to tackle the competition issue at processing level,” he said.

Woods said that the recent developments on mergers in the beef and sheep sectors raise serious concerns for farmers about price competition and increasing the power of processors.

The CCPC is considering the merger between Dawn and Dunbia and the IFA was meeting the commission on this matter and the broader issues around the lack of competition and transparency in the beef sector.

Woods said: “It is the responsibility of the CCPC to carry out a proper and full investigation into this merger and to publish the outcome, so that farmers can see what investigative work was carried out and what rationale they use to arrive at their decisions.”

Transparency

Woods said the lack of transparency around market returns, wholesale prices and profits across the meat chain from processing right through to retail level is unacceptable and impedes competition. He called for action at national and EU level to address this issue.