The president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has written to the EU commissioner for competition outlining his concerns about the proposed sale of Kildare Chilling to Dawn Meats.
Dermot Kelleher asked EU Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager to examine whether the purchase is compatible with ensuring sufficient competition in the primary procurement markets for supplies of cattle and sheep.
The ICSA president warned that there is “precious little competition” in the meat processing sector in Ireland, and the loss of independence will have a “big impact”.
It has been reported that the deal will have to go through the statutory checks by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) before being finalised.
Commenting that the ICSA has “serious misgivings” about any further weakening of competition in the beef and sheep processing sectors, Kelleher said:
“The removal of Kildare Chilling will serve only to consolidate the position and power of the big three, namely: ABP, Kepak, and Dawn Meats.
“Maintaining competition is key to the survival of primary producers up and down the country.”
Kildare Chilling is regularly a leader when it comes to lamb prices and plays a critical role in keeping significant volumes of lamb out of the control of big processors, Kelleher added.
The processor accounts for around 20% of the national sheep throughput, and its slaughter halls have the capacity to kill 120,000 cattle and 500,000 lambs per annum.
“For the sake of protecting any sort of genuine competition, we cannot afford to lose important outlets like Kildare Chilling”, the association’s president said.
Another farming organisation has recently raised concerns about the deal and called on the CCPC to thoroughly examine the impact of the proposed sale.