Farmers were warned at the weekend that the high prices being paid to them for beef, £1 per lb, could not be sustained for much longer.
The warning came from the Irish Meat Association which said the price would be "unsustainable", especially when export licences to non-EU countries run out.
Many Irish meat factories had been granted export licences to trade outside the EU which carried a high rate of export refund, a compensation payment made to exporters for trading at world prices.
However, within the past month, these export refund amounts have been cut by up to 20 per cent, and any new licences granted would carry the lower rates.
The farm organisations, particularly the Irish Farmers' Association, which closed down the industry in an effort to force the factories to pay 90p per lb in January, rejected the statements.
They believe farmers are at last being paid a reasonable price for their animals and are happy that the factories are having to compete for animals and pay higher prices.
They are also aware that with the planned reopening of the live cattle trade with Libya in the autumn the factories will be forced to continue to pay higher prices.
Meanwhile, both the IFA and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers accused the factories of imposing unjustified cuts in lamb prices last week.
Mr Frank Corcoran, chairman of the IFA's national sheep committee, said cuts would destroy the sheep sector and there were no legitimate reasons to cut prices.
He said that based on French market returns - the French take nearly 80 per cent of Ireland's lamb production - factories could by paying 5p to 7p per lb over their quoted prices.
He added that lamb skin prices are making £5.50p, which should return £4 more per head for a lamb than this time last year.