The cuts announced in EU export refunds for beef have sparked off contention between the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Irish Meat Association on their possible impact on prices to farmers.
The IMA, representing the meat plants, said the cuts on male cattle carcasses of 2.5p a lb, would cost £19 a bullock and more if not all the boneless meat was exported outside the EU.
However, a Department of Agriculture and Food spokesman said the cuts made at the EU Beef Management Committee on Friday should not impact on the prices paid to farmer producers.
Export refunds are paid to European exporters to compensate them for selling produce to countries outside the EU, where prices are normally lower than the artificially high EU ones.
The Department spokesman said the Irish, French and Germans had opposed the cuts - introduced because of the dollar's strength and strong demand for beef on the world market. However, because of these factors the impact for producers would be minimal, he claimed.
But Mr John Smith, chief executive of the IMA, said the cuts would cause problems in the new year, particularly for farmers fattening cattle over the winter.
It would impact heavily on the market for bullocks, given that about 80 per cent of Irish bullock beef is sold outside the EU.
"Refund cuts are always bad news, particularly given Ireland's exceptional dependency on markets outside the EU. Coming immediately before Christmas, they are bound to cast a cloud over the market outlook for the new year," he concluded.