Poultry, chicken and egg producers from across Ireland protested this afternoon at a number of major retail outlets in Dublin.
Producers are being driven out of business by the failure of retailers to address the escalating production costs on farms, according to Irish Farmers Association (IFA) National Poultry Committee Chairman Alo Mohan.
Speaking from the protest, Mohan warned poultry producers are under extreme pressure because of an ongoing loss-making situation that is unsustainable. He accused retailers and processors of failing to listen to the concerns of growers. “Costs have risen at an alarming rate, but the problems for poultry producers are falling on deaf ears. Either retailers take account of this, or we will go out of business.”
He said there was an urgent need for producers to recover a very modest 7c/bird and 1c/egg from the retailers to help meet increased costs and stay in business. “This is not an unreasonable ask, considering the massive margins retailers enjoy on their product. Retailers, despite requests to take account of the difficult situation on farms have been silent, and what this tells us is that they find farmers simply an inconvenience in their drive for profits.”
He claimed the processors and retailers are blaming each other for the failure to pass back a price increase to producers. “This has to stop now, and action must be taken by the retailers to secure the viability of a poultry sector that supports thousands of jobs in the country.
“The level of crisis that exists has not been addressed to date, and the availability of locally-produced chicken and eggs, delivered to the highest standards, cannot be guaranteed unless a greater share of the final price is returned to producers,” he concluded.
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