The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said that the “jaw-dropping” gap between Irish and UK beef prices has widened again.
The chair of the association’s livestock committee, Des Morrison, said that nobody, including the meat factories, could offer “any kind of coherent reason” for the significant price disparity.
Morrison said that the gap now stood at an “astonishing” 60c/kg for standard R3 cattle, according to official figures from Bord Bia.
Beef prices
“As of August 5, an Irish R3 heifer was making €4.72/kg, excluding VAT. The UK equivalent was making €5.35/kg, excluding VAT.
“That is a jaw-dropping difference of 59c/kg for the same animal,” the ICMSA Livestock chair said.
Morrison added that the figures for an R3 steer were “even more shocking”.
“Again, as of August 5, the Irish steer is €4.72/kg, excluding VAT, the UK R3 steer is making €5.36/kg excluding VAT. That is a difference of 64c/kg and might translate to approximately €250/animal.
“ICMSA is asking now on behalf of Irish farmers how that difference is possible between almost identical animals, almost identical slaughtering processes and regulations and almost identical markets,” he said.
“We will continue to highlight this extraordinary and mystifying gap that has opened up between Irish prices and UK prices for the same cattle.
“The reason why we have to keep asking the same question is because all the people who should be asking that question, don’t seem at all perturbed by the situation.
“Well let me tell those people that farmers are extremely perturbed by the situation, and they want answers, especially when the factories seem intent on relentlessly reducing prices,” Morrison said.