Meat factories `capitalise' on misfortunes of farmers

The State's meat factories have been accused of "capitalising on the present misfortunes of farmers" by a senior figure in the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association. Mr Liam Heverin, chairman of the ICMSA's beef and cattle committee, criticised "the general reduction in cattle prices last week by amounts equivalent to the slaughter premium which became payable to farmers on January 1st".

At a press conference in Dublin yesterday, Mr Heverin said some of the meat factories "are supposed to be controlled by farmers". Beef prices were 8p a lb lower than this time last year, and 18p lower than in 1996.

The ICMSA president, Mr Frank Allen, called for an expert group to establish what was a fair price for beef, taking market realities into account. While there was no proof the meat factories were "profiteering", this was because the figures were not available.

He called for a body to be set up on the lines of the Dairy Board which would allow farmers to know whether they were receiving a fair price for their cattle.

Mr Pat O'Rourke, the ICMSA vice-president, said there was an "enormous amount of distrust" among farmers of the meat factories. Mr Allen called for a revamped intervention scheme which would have a safety trigger set at 68 per cent of the intervention price, instead of the current 60 per cent, and at 84p a lb instead of the current 74p.

He called for a restoration of export refunds to 1995 levels and the removal of barriers to the trade in live cattle, so that fair competition could exist. He also sought "a cast-iron guarantee" on shipping to third countries to guarantee permanent access to those markets.

Mr Allen called on the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, "to take more effective action, particularly in regard to securing the opening of Egyptian and Libyan live export trade and in compelling meat factories to reflect the returns they get from European markets in the prices they pay to farmers".

Mr Allen criticised "the uncaring attitude" of the EU Commission which, he said, was illustrated by "the massive reduction in supports", halved since 1990.

Mr Heverin said the numbers of live cattle exported had dropped dramatically, from 404,000 in 1994 to 57,000 in 1997.

Mr Gus Fitzpatrick, secretary of the Livestock Exporters' Association, welcomed the recent visit of the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, to Egypt.

BSE, which he described as the Bloody English Disease, was the main problem there, he said, saying there had never been a case of BSE in Irish steer cattle exported abroad.