IFA anger as factory cattle prices drop below "survival minimum"

THE Irish Farmers' Association yesterday expressed outrage at a 5 pence per pound drop in the price paid for cattle at meat factories, as efforts continued to reopen the Egyptian market for live cattle.

The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, spoke by telephone to the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Amre Moussa, who said his government had discussed the ban on Irish cattle and agreed to send experts to look at Irish controls aimed at combating BSE.

Senior IFA figures met Mr Spring last night to discuss the Egyptians' visit and to press him to continue with his efforts to get the market reopened.

The ICMSA president, Mr Frank Allen, said he was convinced the Egyptian ban - which closed off a market worth £180 million - would be overturned if the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, presented the visiting delegation with "a good case regarding the high standards of the Irish beef industry".

Because the six month ban is already in place, the task of changing the Egyptian government's [policy is all the more difficult, farm leaders said. The Egyptian delegation is expected to arrive tomorrow.

The IFA president, Mr John Donnelly, said Ireland could lose its position in the Egyptian market if the ban persisted - and ships chartered by the exporters would be hired for other business.

Factories were yesterday quoting cattle prices 4p to 6p per lb lower than last week, as prices dropped below the 90p per lb which the IFA said is the minimum needed for farmers to survive. Mr Donnelly advised farmers "not to panic". He urged Mr Yates to insist that meat factories pay the same price as that being paid in Britain.

Senior Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia officials fly to Russia today, including the Department's assistant secretary Mr John Malone, the chief veterinary officer, Mr Colm Gaynor, and the Bord Bia chairman, Mr Paddy Malone.

They will be seeking to convince senior Russian veterinary officials that the Russian ban on beef from counties Monaghan, Cork and Tipperary should not be extended to other counties.

The protocol banning beef from the three counties is to be reviewed by the Russians at the end of this month. However, the Russian decision may be made known to the Department by the end of this week.

Mr Yates is to address the IFA a.g.m. in Dublin today and is to take part in a question and answer session. He is likely to face strong questioning over beef prices and what can be done to lift the Egyptian and Russian bans.

He is also likely to be questioned on reports that Department officials who were in Egypt before Christmas had a memo ascribing blame for recent BSE outbreaks to farmers who had fed infected meat and bone meal to cattle after it had been banned.

IFA officials said that if this had been widespread there would have been more cases of a number of cattle from a single herd being infected. They also criticised the effectiveness of the Department's policing of its own ban.