ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham has commented that if beef farmers in Germany are achieving €6/kg for beef, there is no reason for Irish farmers not to get the same.
“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,” he asserted.
Graham pointed out that there is no justification for prices in Ireland lagging so far behind what 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.”
“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 any interest in ensuring their own suppliers can stay in business.”
“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. 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 retailers are going to have to deal with this reality unless they want empty shelves,” he concluded.