Kepak Clare closure ‘another blow for rural Ireland’

Kepak closed its Clare site on Friday of last week, with management determining that the site was “no longer competitive.”

The closure came despite a comprehensive review and significant efforts to keep the Clare abattoir operational, a Kepak spokesperson said.

Given that Kepak Clare is not approved for export to markets such as the US, China and UK, “it consequently cannot achieve the associated price premium to remain competitive, leaving no alternative to temporary closure,” the spokesperson said.

In September of last year, Kepak said it had indefinitely postponed a planned and publicly announced €6.5m investment at the Clare site as a direct result of the “illegal blockades” at the time. It was one of the most severely affected factories during the beef protests.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the factory was killing 40 to 50 cattle/day or 200 to 250/week, with throughput declining in recent months.

Options for farmers for nearby factories include ABP Rathkeale, ABP Nenagh, Dawn Meats Charleville and Kepak Athleague.

Co Clare

Beef farmer

“It’s a disgrace and it’s another blow for rural Ireland. It’s a very big loss to Co Clare. It’s a very handy place for smaller farmers to bring two or three cattle and these farmers are now going to have to travel longer distances to get their cattle killed. It leaves a lack of competition in the area and gives more buying power to other factories.

Co Galway

Beef farmer

“It’s not good for farmers in Clare and south Galway. I kill cattle down there on a regular basis and I was happy with it, very handy place to get into and out of and I’ll miss it. It’s a big blow to people working there. There isn’t an awful lot of other employment in that area, so it will be hard for some of them to find jobs locally.”

Co Clare

Beef farmer

“I’m very disappointed to be honest. It was great to have a place so local to go with cattle. It’s going to cost us more now to get cattle up the country. It comes as a big surprise to us all, as there was a lot of work put into it doing it up and we thought they were here long term.”

Co Clare

Ennis Mart manager

“It’s a big shock to everybody here in the mart today. While there were questions as to whether it would continue killing cattle after the beef protests last autumn, I don’t think anybody saw this coming so quickly. It’s another bit of competition taken out of the market and that’s not good for farmers. The nearest factory is 1.5 hours away with a jeep and trailer, so it’s going to mean extra hassle and costs for farmers who slaughter their cattle.”