Beef Plan Movement representatives on the Beef Market Taskforce have expressed their objection to the findings of the Grant Thornton report on the Irish beef industry which was presented to the taskforce last week.
Reacting to the report, the taskforce members appointed to represent Beef Plan – Dermot O’Brien and Enda Fingleton – said they “demanded further input at taskforce level and requested that a full sitting of the taskforce be dedicated to this very important topic, as a one-item agenda”.
The representatives highlighted that “the food service industry was not consulted, during compilation of the Grant Thornton report thus far”.
We are not surprised at the outcome of this report and we also have grave concerns about the third report being developed by Grant Thornton on ‘an independent examination of the price composition of the total value of an animal along the supply chain’.
The Beef Plan members claimed that Grant Thornton has already stated at the taskforce that transfer pricing is not being considered by them in their calculations, which they argue “immediately renders an incomplete report”.
The representatives highlighted that fatstock sales that Beef Plan coordinated with mart managers nationwide over the past number of months “have delivered higher prices to farmers, prices that are over and above factory quotes”.
“It is alarming that meat factory buyers are in this position and nobody can explain why this is the case. It still remains one of the great mysteries of the beef industry.
Once again Beef Plan reiterates the requirement of an ‘independent beef regulator with statutory powers’ to independently investigate the anomalies in the whole beef industry.
In their account of Thursday’s taskforce meeting, O’Brien and Fingleton said that, when quizzed on “why factory buyers were able to pay more for factory fit cattle at ringside than what farmers could achieve by taking their cattle to meat factories, regardless of age, weight or number of movements, there was no answer”.
The taskforce members added:
“It was highlighted that only a small percentage of retail buyers require the four movement [rule], yet all Irish beef produced has to comply with in-spec criteria and Grant Thornton was unable to clarify or quantify this despite having 10 months to compile its report.
We feel that this draft report falls long short of what is required by Irish farmers, this draft report jeopardises the credibility of the Beef Task Force forum and those engaged around the table.
Clarification was sought from Grant Thornton on why the in-spec requirement of no more than ‘four on farm residencies’ was required across all of the beef industry, when only 5% of key customers require ‘four on farm residencies’, as a market specification, the representatives added.
“Grant Thornton had no data or research to support that ‘four on farm residencies’ was a requirement across all the markets, nor was there evidence to support the requirement of the 30-month upper age limit’ in third countries.”
Fingleton and O’Brien said that three out of 70 countries that Ireland exports to request under 30-month-old beef, “one of those countries being China, who has agreed a trade deal with the US to import beef that is up to 36 months-of-age”.
Grant Thornton has been unable to establish a consumer requirement to support the assertions from processors or retailers that this age limit is required. Environmental impact is now being used to try and justify these unfair trading practices being imposed on farmers.
The Beef Plan representatives concluded that “Grant Thornton has been unable to complete a comprehensive report on the task that they were commissioned to do by the Irish taxpayer”, adding that they “will be challenging some factual errors within the Grant Thornton report”.