A spokesperson for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has underlined that the minister cannot legally have a role in setting beef prices.
In a statement to AgriLand, the minister’s representative said:
“It is important to note that neither the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine nor the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine can legally have any role in determining the prices for beef or any other commodity, nor can the department directly intervene in the determination of prices.
Equally, it is not the department’s role to comment on commercial decisions taken by private entities in an open market.
The representative continued: “That being said, at the most recent Beef Roundtable, which farming groups declined to attend, the minister urged the stakeholders to recognise their interdependence and he also called on processors to engage positively with their farmer suppliers to build the sustainability of the sector as a whole and to ensure a reasonable return for the farmers upon whom the sector relies for its development.
“It is essential that the position of the primary producer in the supply chain be improved if the industry is to build a sector for the future.”
Beef supports
It was highlighted that Minister Creed made an additional €120 million available this year through two measures specifically targeting the beef sector – the €20 million Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) and the €100 million Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM).
A number of other measures were highlighted as the assistance the department employs to support Irish beef farmers.
These included: the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP); the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS); Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC); and Knowledge Transfer.
Specifically on the BDGP, the minister’s spokesperson noted that this is the “main support specifically targeted for the suckler sector, which provides Irish beef farmers with €300 million in funding over the current Rural Development Programme (RDP) period”.
This scheme is an agri-environmental measure to improve the environmental sustainability of the national suckler herd by increasing genetic merit within the herd.
Continuing, it was added: “Provision was made in the current RDP to grant support to facilitate the establishment of Beef Producer Organisations to strengthen the position of the primary producer in the supply chain and department officials are engaging with prospective groups on an ongoing basis.”
The review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was highlighted as being a key step for supporting suckler and beef farmers.
“Examination of appropriate measures to support all agri-food sectors, including the suckler sector, is underway in the department in preparation for the next iteration of the CAP.
“The minister will continue to argue for as strong a CAP budget as possible, post-2020.
In particular, he is committed to ensuring that suckler farmers continue to receive strong support in the next CAP.
“The department’s view is that such payments should support and encourage suckler farmers to make the best decisions possible to improve the profitability, and the economic and environmental efficiency, of their farming system.”
Unfair trading practices
Finally, it was highlighted that the department is currently in the process of transposing into national law the EU Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain which entered into force on April 30, 2019.
The directive applies to agricultural and food products and protects weaker suppliers against stronger buyers against a specific 16 unfair trading practices which can occur in the food supply chain, the spokesperson concluded.