Irish beef price is 22c/kg behind the Prime Export Benchmark Price for the latest week, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) livestock chairperson, Brendan Golden, has said.
Commenting on this week’s factory quotes, Golden said: “Attempts by factories to reduce quotes is unacceptable.
“Beef farmers do not have the capacity to absorb the production cost increases associated with cattle finishing and factories must be stronger in the market place.”
The IFA chair said the 22c/kg Prime Export Benchmark Price differential shows “there is clearly capacity in the market place to return higher prices and close this 22c/kg gap”.
Despite this, Golden acknowledged that EU and UK beef markets have softened slightly over the past week, but said that tight supplies and strong global demand for beef is helping to underpin the trade.
Brendan Golden said winter finishers are in the process of making “key decisions” for the coming months and said that factories “must reflect the realities of the current market in stronger prices now, and offer winter finishers minimum price guarantees for their cattle this winter and next spring”.
“Teagasc [has] identified the breakeven price for winter finishing will need to be €5.85/kg before any margin is factored in,” he said.
“Meat factories and multi-national retailers are aware of this and must provide surety for farmers in the form of minimum price guarantees to maintain our hard-earned consistent year-round supply of cattle.”
Golden highlighted that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has a critical role to play in supporting suckler and beef farmers.
Minister McConalogue must provide suckler and beef farmers with direct targeted support to offset feed costs this winter, he said.
“The minister must also provide longer-term direct supports for suckler farmers to bring the payment rate for suckler cows to €300/cow and provide €100/animal for cattle rearing and finishing farmers,” Golden said.
“Our most productive farmers are the most exposed to the current inputs crisis as is the sector of farmers who will lose most in the flawed CAP [Common Agricultural Policy] that will come into effect next year.
“Suckler and beef farming is a recognised low-income vulnerable sector that does not have the capacity to absorb the input cost increases experienced this year and must be to the fore in government supports in next week’s budget.”