The Beef Plan Movement has been informed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine that retailers will not be attending the beef talks on Monday, September 9.
A statement issued by the Beef Plan this morning, Saturday, September 7, explained: “We find it hard to understand this as Meat Industry Ireland (MII) lay the blame for the four-movement rule, 70-day rule and 30-month rule firmly at the door of the retailers.
“Meat Industry Ireland also say that retailers take the largest share of the retail price of beef,” the statement noted.
Retailers have at no point in the last month made any public statement on this issue and therefore we can only assume that this is a calculated ploy on their behalf to maintain their profits.
The Beef Plan outlined that it has tried “in vain” since last January to engage with some of the major retailers in Ireland “without any success”.
Continuing, the statement outlined: “Both MII and Retail Ireland are members of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC).
6 farm groups confirmed
Despite the news that retailers will not be attending the talks, six farmer representative groups have confirmed to AgriLand they will be attending the second round of beef talks in Backweston, Co. Kildare.
The further round of talks – which the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, confirmed will take place – follow on from a wave of protests that began early last week, which were sparked by the first set of beef talks.