Oversupply is main reason for fall in beef prices, says Coveney

Steps are being taken to tackle a fall in cattle prices that has angered farmers, Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said today.

He was speaking after around 200 beef farmers staged the rally outside a Tesco supermarket in Naas, Co Kildare yesterday to highlight their frustrations over falling cattle prices.

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) have also said it was concerned grocery chains had changed their specifications for beef.

Mr Coveney said the medium to long term market was strong for the beef industry with new markets in countries in Asia and the Middle East.

He said the main reason for decline in prices was an increase in beef production this year, with the number of cattle slaughtered up 12.5 per cent.

“There’s an oversupply of cattle at the moment. Retailers and processors are much choosier about the type of beef that they take,” he said.

He the specifications being imposed by processors and retailers “have not changed”, but he had that “the implementation of them has”.

Mr Coveney said he believed there would be a reduction in supply next year.

He said he was “unhappy” with the level of communications between meat factories and farmers.

“Farmers have been taken by surprise by the implementation of spec issues which have created a huge amount of confusion amongst farmers,” he said.

Mr Coveney told RTÉ radio the "essence" of the problem was people were eating less red meat across Europe due to the recession.

“Farmers are finding the going very, very tough,” he said.

He said measures taken to resolve the problems included creating a beef forum and setting up a “transparency tool” online so beef farmers could compare prices for animals being sold.

Mr Coveney said Bord Bia had also been given an increase in marketing funds for beef across Europe.

He added that a public consultation process had also begun.

The Competition Authority recently issued a report stating that the was sufficient competition in the beef industry.

“If anybody has any evidence that some sort of a cartel is going on here that competition isn’t working as it should well then I need to hear about it,” Mr Coveney said.

“I can only go on the prices that I see.”