€6.00/KG for beef must become a reality, and quickly, ICSA beef chair, Edmund Graham, believes.
He has said that “if beef farmers in Germany are achieving €6/kg for beef, there is no reason for Irish farmers not to get the same”.
For months, the farm group has warned that beef prices must hit the €6/kg mark if farmers are to have any hope of coping with “seriously” inflated input costs.
He said that €5/kg is “no cause for celebration” when it does not cover your cost of production.
“If farmers in Germany are achieving €6/kg, that is what we must demand also,” he said.
Furthermore, he outlined that there is no justification for prices here lagging so far behind what our European counterparts are securing for beef.
Production costs
He said Irish farmers are facing the same price hikes in feed, fuel, and fertiliser as they are.
However, unlike them, we are not seeing any “serious” effort by processors here to increase prices to a level that adequately reflects the soaring cost of production.
“All the while, we are seeing the dairy processors bending over backwards to support their suppliers through these difficult times.”
“The meat industry needs to do the same – and do it quickly if they have any interest in ensuring their own suppliers can stay in business.”
Graham stressed that the reality is that neither the EU nor the government has come up with any financial package for Irish farmers to support “unprecedented2 cost inflation.
“There is, therefore, no alternative except price rises for the primary producer to reflect the increased costs. It is clear that this will require €6/kg for beef.”
“Both processors and retailers will have to deal with this reality unless they want empty shelves,” he concluded.
Last month, the ICSA stated that beef would have to reach €6.00/kg if farmers “have any hope of coping” with huge increases in input costs.
