IRELAND-PROBLEMS OVER BEEF IN UK.
British farmers have accused retailers and processors of using "cheap" Irish beef to force down cattle prices in England, Scotland and Wales.
The National Beef Association (NBA) in Britain claimed that beef imports from Ireland had undermined returns to local finishers, and that British cattle prices had been hit as a result of efforts by Irish processors to cut beef quotes.
NBA director Kim Haywood said slaughter cattle in Ireland were £70-80/hd (€79-90/hd) cheaper than the British average.
Ms Haywood said a "sustained attack" on Irish farmgate prices by some of the country’s biggest processors meant that cheap Irish beef imports were being "used as a lever" to cut the price of British stock.
However, a Bord Bia official pointed out that British retailers needed Irish beef, as domestic supplies remained tight and imports from South America were well back as a consequence of the ban on Brazilian beef.
Meanwhile, the IFA has accused beef processors of undercutting each other on the British retail market and claimed that beef finishers have been forced to carry the cost of their actions.
The association’s beef committee chairman, Michael Doran, said that the policy being pursued by the factories had resulted in an unacceptable differential developing between Irish and British cattle prices.
"The real problem is that Irish cattle prices have been held back by 15-20c/kg below where they should be, while the Irish factories are undercutting each other on the British market," Mr Doran maintained.
At £2.80/kg and sterling at an exchange rate of 88p/€1, Mr Doran said UK cattle prices were equivalent to 440c/kg (including VAT). This was 33c/kg, or close to €120/hd, over Irish price levels, he added.
"It’s time for the factories to release this stranglehold on the trade and return the true price that the market can pay to winter finishers," Mr Dolan said.
- Declan O’Brien