Nearly half of Ireland's meat export plants are expected to remain closed today as the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) escalated its protest over cattle prices by demonstrating outside AIBP and Dawn meat factories.
The protests were mounted outside the Dawn meat plants at Midleton, Co Cork; Grannagh, Co Waterford; Rathdowney, Co Laois; Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon and Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, at 7 p.m. last evening.
These are additional to the AIBP plants which were targeted last Sunday week at Bandon, Co Cork; Waterford; Rathkeale, Co Limerick; Cahir and Nenagh, Co Tipperary; and Clones, Co Monaghan. The management at the AIBP plants closed them down last Monday week and complained that the protests were hurting their business.
Last night the Irish Meat Association (IMA), representing the Irish meat plants, accused the IFA of threatening beef industry prospects and putting the livelihood of cattle producers at risk. "The IFA campaign is misguided, misinformed and irresponsible and it is damaging to producers and processors in the short, medium and long term," said Mr John Smith, chief executive of the IMA.
"The IFA action comes at a time when Irish beef processors are working extremely hard seeking out new markets for Irish beef and the IFA's obstruction of normal processing can only make this challenge more difficult. The ongoing IFA action at meat plants could also result in the loss of existing contracts, adding to the overall problems facing the industry," said Mr Smith.
But the IFA, which took quarter-page advertisements in the national media today to outline its case, said it was proceeding with action which would cease at 4 p.m. this evening.
Mr John Dillon, the IFA president, said the decision by Brussels to increase export refunds to Egypt by up to 30 per cent on Friday night was worth €80 a head on animals being exported there. Cattle prices in Europe, he said, had increased by €40 per head since July and producers in Britain were receiving £1 per pound weight in Ireland's largest export market.
He added that the lifting of the Russian ban on taking beef from six Irish counties made 36 per cent more cattle available for export there. He claimed that prices paid by the factories in September were 13 per cent lower than this time last year. "They have cut the prices they are paying farmers by €95 a head since early July. We just want a fair return," he said.
Mr Dillon said the direct premia paid to farmers for their cattle was for the farmers, not for the factories.
The IMA had pointed out that farmers now received €520 per head directly on steers in premia. This was worth 160c/kg or 57.7p/lb, and factory prices could not be looked at in isolation.