Beef processors in Ireland are being called on to follow suit with dairy processors and support Irish beef farmers with higher returns to match high input costs.

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has highlighted that farmers in Germany are now receiving €6/kg for beef, and has argued that there is “no reason” that the same price can’t be paid to Irish beef suppliers.

The association said that this price “must become a reality, and quickly”.

“ICSA has been warning for months that beef prices must hit the €6/kg mark if farmers are to have any hope of coping with seriously inflated input costs.

“€5/kg is no cause for celebration when it doesn’t cover your cost of production, and if farmers in Germany are achieving €6/kg, that is what we must demand also,” said Edmund Graham, the association’s beef chairperson.

Speaking this afternoon (Wednesday, April 20), he added: “There is no justification for prices here lagging so far behind what out European counterparts are getting for their beef.

“We are facing the same price hikes in feed, fuel and fertiliser as they are but unlike them, we are not seeing any serious effort by processors here to increase prices to a level that adequately reflects the soaring cost of production.”

Graham highlighted that some dairy processors have put measures in place to assist farmers in facing the input costs challenge.

“All the while we are seeing the dairy processors bending over backwards to support their suppliers through these difficult times. The meat industry needs to do the same – and do it quickly – if they have interest in ensuring their own suppliers can stay in business,” the ICSA beef chair argued.

“The reality is that neither the EU nor the government has come up with any financial package for Irish farmers to support unprecedented cost inflation,” he noted.

“There is therefore no alternative except price rises for the primary producer to reflect the increased costs and it is clear that this will require €6/kg for beef.

“Both processors and and retailers are going to have to deal with this reality unless they want empty shelves,” Graham concluded.