Irish supermarkets were accused of taking margins as high as 100 per cent on retail over wholesale prices for lamb yesterday.
The IFA's National Sheep Committee Chairman, Mr Laurence Fallon, said this survey proves that the pricing practices of the powerful supermarket groups are totally unacceptable and aimed at achieving the maximum possible margin for themselves.
He was speaking at the publication of a national retail lamb price survey, which covered stores in Ballina, Castlebar, Mullingar, Lucan, Blanchardstown and Tallaght. The stores, surveyed on June 30th and July 1st, covered 13 locations where Dunnes, Tesco, Supervalu and Superquinn stores are located.
The Irish Farmers Association's sheep farmers' leader said the excessively high prices being charged by the supermarkets were damaging lamb consumption among consumers. He said the supermarkets could well afford to sell lamb at retail prices of at least 30 per cent lower and still make a very good margin.
Mr Fallon said lower retail prices would seriously boost consumption and benefit both consumers and producers. "It also proves that the powerful supermarkets have jumped on the consumer price rip-off that is now so apparent across so many sectors in Ireland," said Mr Fallon.
High-price and high-profit practices of the supermarkets were turning consumers off the consumption of a high-quality meat such as lamb, he added.
Mr Fallon pointed out that farmers were currently receiving €3.64 per kg carcase weight for lamb from the meat factories. The factories slaughter and process the carcase and lamb cuts for sale to the supermarkets. He said typical wholesale prices charged by the factories to the supermarkets were €10 per kg for loin chops and €5 per kg for legs. Based on the IFA survey, supermarkets were charging consumers over double the wholesale price, with an average loin chop price of €19.50 per kg and an average lamb leg price of €11.20 per kg.
Mr Fallon said this was an extraordinarily high price mark-up, and even taking account of the retail trim, waste and packaging, could not be justified. He said clearly the supermarkets were into taking as much as they can get off consumers for lamb meat sales.