Grain farmers who grow malting barley, the main ingredient of the pint of plain, took to the streets yesterday over the price they are being offered for their crop at a time when Guinness is seeking 5 - 6 cent increase in the price of a pint.
More than 150 growers and supporters marched on the Greencore malting plant at Athy, Co Kildare, to highlight their grievances over an offer of €15 a tonne as a premium over the price they would receive for growing the grain for animal feed.
Irish Farmers Association national grain committee chairman, Colum McDonnell, said market conditions justified a doubling of the malting premium paid to growers.
"Once again, Greencore Malt and Diageo are abusing their dominant market position, offering a derisory premium of €15 per tonne to growers for a quality product, way below the current market value, while at the same time asking consumers to pay more for their pint," he said.
"New crop EU malting barley prices are trading €40 - €50 a tonne over last year's prices. Even allowing for the €10 a tonne lift in average green feed price paid last harvest, the current premium offer is €15 - €20 a tonne below its true market value."
Mr McDonnell said that the publicans, the Government, the brewers and the maltsters accounted for 99.8 per cent of the price of a pint, leaving only 0.2 per cent for the grower (less than 1 cent).
A spokesman for Minch Malt said it had offered malting barley growers the option of a guaranteed fixed price of €140 a tonne at 20 per cent moisture.
He said this guaranteed price would suit growers who prefer certainty and wish to minimise price risk and is an alternative to the €15 premium on the average feeding barley price at the 2007 harvest. The company was also giving growers the option to mix the fixed and variable options as it suited the grower.