The ongoing beef protests across Ireland have brought “a number of questions for beef processors, corporate food retailers and corporate food wholesalers forward to be answered”, according to the Northern Ireland lobby group Farmers For Action (FFA).

Sean McAuley, an FFA steering committee member, claimed “corporate abattoirs in Ireland and in the UK seem to set up their own rules and pricing and give or take a few pence to retain the fog on anti-competitive practices”.

As a result, FFA has requested a meeting with the UK Competition and Market Authority.

McAuley continued: “This will be an interesting meeting, in that FFA have met the Competition Authorities in Brussels some years back.”

Concluding, McAuley said: “This is laughable if it wasn’t so serious with many farmers at their wits end financially.”