The purchase of Kildare Chilling by Dawn Meats will “reduce competition for beef and sheep farmers” throughout the country, according to the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
Yesterday (Friday, September 22) the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) confirmed that it had ended its investigation into the proposed acquisition, finding that it would not substantially lessen competition.
This paves away for the purchase of Kildare Chilling by Dawn Meats to go ahead.
However, IFA president Tim Cullinan said that the deal will reduce competition in the processing sector to the detriment of farmers in the beef and sheep sectors.
“Allowing any reduction in competition between buyers of cattle and sheep is not acceptable. The CCPC has failed farmers yet again in facilitating this acquisition,” Cullinan said.
The IFA made a submission to the CCPC on the proposed acquisition, in which the association drew attention the contraction of processing competition in the cattle and sheep sector, saying that the sale of Kildare Chilling “removes another significant standalone plant”.
According to Cullinan, the new office of the Agri-Food Regulator should be involved in ensuring that acquisitions of this type don’t reduce price returns to producers.
“Regulators continue to allow less competition by allowing these acquisitions and mergers of processors in an area that lacks any level of price transparency outside the farmgate.
“The [office] must step up to the plate and prove its worth to farmers by ensuring this acquisition does not reduce farmer returns from the market place,” he said.
According to the IFA president, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Agri-Food Regulator “now have critical roles to play to ensure this acquisition does not weaken the position of farmers when selling their cattle and sheep”.
Separately, Cullinan also expressed concern over apparent shortcomings in relation to transparency around sheepmeat pricing.
“Beef prices are published weekly on the [department] website for each category of animal for each factory, but no such system is in place for sheep prices,” he said.
“The department must replicate the price reporting system in place for beef prices for sheep farmers to help provide more transparency for sheep farmers in the sale of their animals,” Cullinan added.