AROUND 90 jobs have been lost with the announcement of the closure of a chicken processing plant outside Lurgan, in Co Armagh.

Business at the Farm Crest factory on the Annesborough Industrial Estate is believed to have been affected by a slump in prices. Originally Chiko Foods, the plant was bought five years ago by the Coleraine company, Farm Fed Chickens.

The district secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, Mr Sam Best, said that attempts to negotiate enhanced redundancy payments had been unsuccessful. He said, that many of the workers had been there for less than two years, so redundancy payments would not be high.

"The closure is a bad blow for the area, but the market for frozen chicken seems to have slumped dramatically," Mr Best said.