14 MAY 2019
ICSA sheep chair Sean McNamara has said factory quotes of €6/kg for spring lamb at this time of the year is a real slap in the face for sheep farmers. “This time last year factories were quoting €7/kg for the same product. This is the minimum the spring lamb sector needs to make it viable and for early lamb production to be sustained. Yet, here we are again, factories failing pay out an adequate price for this highly specialised premium product,” he said.
“It was also this time last year that we were promised the sun, moon and stars if we agreed to EID tagging. So we’ve increased our costs but it hasn’t made a jot of difference to the price we’re getting. Processors are just continuing to substitute Irish lamb with cheap lamb and lamb products imported from the UK. It’s a cynical tactic to keep a lid on the price paid out to farmers here.”
“It is disgraceful way to treat sheep farmers who have been planning and working all the hours in the depths of winter to ensure the supply is there to meet demand at this peak time. €7/kg is the absolute minimum needed for farmers to make any sort of return on their investment. We’ll all be driven out of business at this rate.”
ENDS
