As things stand, Irish poultry growers and egg producers are not getting enough to cover costs. If the status quo continues, there is a strong possibility that poultry shelves could empty in supermarkets, as farmers won’t continue to place day old birds or layer hens unless their costs are recovered, says Irish Farmer’s Association Poultry Chairman Nigel Sweetnam.
With this in mind, negotiations have been taking place with processors and egg packers as part of the IFA’s campaign to recover farmers’ costs from the marketplace.
Nigel Sweetnam explains that some producers cannot get any more credit, or afford to pay their energy bills.
He said: “The war in Ukraine has driven feed and energy prices to unprecedented levels, meaning that in the case of the chicken processors, there are additional feed and energy costs which need to be covered, before they pass back the required increase to farmers.”
“The increase offered by the processors and egg packers, from their share of what they were able to get from the marketplace, is far from what producers need,” he added.
Brendan Soden, the Vice Chair of the IFA Poultry Committee, agreed that poultry growers are suffering and losing money. Therefore, without an immediate increase in the wholesale retail price, to be passed back to egg and chicken producers, the entire sector could be in jeopardy. “What we produce is top quality, but at prices which are not sustainable. We intend to highlight the absolute necessity,” he concluded.