Tipperary farming: no let up in beef over prices despite opening of Kuwait market

ICSA beef chairman Edmund Graham has welcomed the announcement by Minister Creed that Kuwait has opened its market to imports of Irish beef and sheepmeat.

However, Mr Graham said that farmers must see a resulting dividend for it to be judged a success.

“Farmers have become increasingly sceptical as to whether the opening of new markets has any real benefit for them whatsoever. In the past, such announcements have not been followed by any strengthening of beef prices,” he said.

Mr Graham said that the price of beef was “nowhere near what it needs to be”.

He said that processors have been imposing harsh price cuts for weeks now.

“The opportunity to export to Kuwait will no doubt be great news for them and for all others who make money off the backs of farmers. It is reprehensible that primary producers continually get forgotten with all the hype,” he said.

The ICSA did not attend last week's Beef Forum meeting in the Department of Agriculture because of what it said was the lack of solidarity shown by meat processors in recent weeks.

ICSA president Patrick Kent said that cutting prices week after week was “shameful” and showed “complete contempt” for farmers and was particularly egregious when many were on their knees due to increased costs.

“There is no point in attending a roundtable discussion when factories are attending in bad faith,” he said.

At a beef protest outside the Department ahead of the forum, IFA president Joe Healy said that Minister Creed must stop telling everyone what he cannot do and act now to save beef farmers.

“Under the Minister’s chairmanship, the Forum has become a mudguard for inaction. It isn’t even a talking shop. Recent meetings have become ‘death by powerpoint’ as farmers get presentation after presentation designed to run down the clock. There is no real engagement on the key issues,” he said.

Mr Healy said that the Minister had not lifted a finger while the factories had “robbed farmers by systematically cutting cattle prices”at the same time prices to farmers were rising in our main export market in the UK.”

He said that while Minister Creed was trying to wash his hands in relation to beef prices he had no excuse in this Tuesday's Budget.

He must show beef farmers that he was on their side by providing additional support for the suckler sector, said Mr Healy.

“Budget Day will be the acid test for Minister Creed. Beef Farmers will judge him on what he delivers for sucklers,” said the IFA leader.

“We’ve had enough of the Minister’s ‘can’t do it, won’t do it’ approach. It won’t wash with farmers. It’s time for action, it’s time for delivery. Tuesday is D-Day,” said Mr Healy.

IFA livestock chairman Angus Woods said farmers were “furious” with the Minister’s indifference to the income crisis on livestock farms.

“We asked the Minister to tackle the factories when they took advantage of farmers on cattle prices during the drought. We presented a detailed report to him at the Tullamore Show on sucklers, which shows that a 10 per cent reduction in suckler cow numbers will hit economic output in rural areas by €305m,” he said.

Mr Woods said Minister Creed needed to be the Minister for Agriculture and to stand up for farmers, and not be the Minister for Factories.

“Minister Creed seems to be fixated on driving beef exports, with the gains going to the factories on the back of loss-making prices to farmers,” said Mr Woods.

He said the income pressure on cattle farms was at breaking point, following the severe weather conditions all year and the massive increase in costs. The way the factories had cut prices over recent weeks was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’. The Teagasc National Farm survey data shows that for 2017, the average income on cattle rearing farms was only €12,529.

“Factories have torn the hell out of prices and forced them down well below the cost of production,” he said.

Mr Woods said that this also eroded confidence in the market place and wrecked the mart price for weanlings and stores, pointing out that prices in our main export market in the UK were rising, up 20p/kg in recent weeks.