17 JUNE 2016
ICSA sheep chairman John Brooks has questioned the benefit to the producer of the proposed Five Year Development Plan for the Irish Sheepmeat Sector submitted to Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed by Meat Industry Ireland (MII).
“This is a great proposal for sheep factories. Get farmers to work harder to produce more sheepmeat and the surplus output will help to drive down prices. What’s in this for farmers?”
“There is no indication of any priority being given to securing an increase in incomes above the current average of just €16,000 per annum for sheep farmers.”
Continuing Mr Brooks said, “In recent weeks we have seen the meat industry pulling prices when numbers have increased even slightly. Experience would suggest that increased production does not equate to increased prices, in fact it is quite the opposite. The beneficiaries in the long term would be the processors alone.”
“In addition, these proposals would place an even greater cost burden onto sheep farmers, including EID tagging, and offers no evidence of any real benefit to the producer. ICSA believes that any development plan for the sheepmeat sector should have the interests of the producer at its core and look at ways to boost income”, he concluded.
ENDS
