A number of farmers have been in contact with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) expressing frustration over live exports, according to the association’s president Tim Cullinan.
Furthermore, they were also complaining about the “lack of co-operation” of a small number of Department of Agriculture officials in the loading of the live export ship, the Sarah M, in Co. Waterford earlier this week.
Tim Cullinan said this is totally unacceptable in the current crisis, where farmers are finding it extremely difficult to sell cattle and are having to take severe price cuts.
Farmers and exporters need the full co-operation of everybody in the current crisis.
Some farmers who had livestock on the ship explained that there were significant delays in scanning and processing cards. Some have alleged that some cards were mixed up and lost in the process.
The IFA national livestock chairman Brendan Golden said that live exports were “never more important” in terms of price competition and additional market outlets.
The IFA says that it has been working with the exporters, Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture, to maximise the live export trade and says there is “no place for bureaucracy”.
‘Wide-scale disruption’
Tim Cullinan has also called on the Government to introduce a specific low-interest loan – as part of the Covid-19 Market Disruption Support Scheme – for the farming sector as a matter of urgency.
Also Read: ‘Government must introduce low-interest loan scheme for farmers’ – IFAPrimary agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture, with the exception of limited increased funding available from Microfinance Ireland, are excluded from the Government-backed Covid-19 schemes.
“The Covid-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented threat. The scale and rapidity of market closures and disturbances is unprecedented and has led to wide-scale disruption for farmers and the associated processing industries,” said Cullinan.