IFA Highlights Price Cost Squeeze on Beef Sector in Brussels

Speaking from Brussels IFA National Livestock Committee Chairman Henry Burns said the losses being encountered from the price cost squeeze in the beef sector were not sustainable for winter finishers and must be urgently addressed by the processing sector. This week Henry Burns represented Irish livestock farmers at the COPA Beef Working Group and the EU Commission Beef Advisory Group in Brussels.
Henry Burns said the massive increase in feed costs this year was inflicting heavy losses on all cattle coming out of sheds.

The IFA livestock leader said based on market returns Irish factories could increase beef prices substantially and close some of the unprecedented gap with UK prices and to a lesser extent EU prices.

Henry Burns said by holding back on market returns and cattle prices factories are seriously damaging winter finishers and in turn the Food Harvest 2020 plan for the beef and livestock sector. He said “the factories are choking off all year round beef supply and driving producers towards more seasonality”.

On the CAP 2013 negotiations, the IFA livestock leader said the Ciolos proposals are totally unacceptable and extremely damaging for the beef and livestock sector. He said “under no circumstances can Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney agree to anything close to what Commissioner Ciolos is proposing on flattening, regionalisation and greening”.

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