GRAIN FARMERS who protested outside Glanbia headquarters in Kilkenny yesterday described as "derisory" the price being offered for their grain.
The Irish Farmers' Association protest drew 400 farmers to the head office of the country's largest agri-company to vent their anger.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe said the belated price offer made to growers of €123 per tonne for green (undried) barley and €127 per tonne for green wheat threatened the future of tillage farming in Ireland.
"Once again, Glanbia has put up a price when the market is at its lowest and leaves growers facing considerable losses," he said. The prices being offered added "insult to injury too for hard-pressed growers", who had to contend with one of the most difficult harvests over 20 years, he added.
"Glanbia grain suppliers collectively have spent close on € 30 million on fertiliser, seed and chemicals in growing crops for Glanbia. However, Glanbia's price offer for grain delivered across the weighbridge amounts to around € 27 million when moisture adjustments are taken into consideration," he said.
He said this represented a deficit of € 3 million and with production costs running close to € 140 per tonne, growers would take a financial hit of up to € 25 for every tonne produced, while Glanbia will secure its margin.
The IFA's national grain committee chairman, Colum McDonnell, said Glanbia's insatiable appetite for margin as a plc has been to the detriment of growers.
"Their quoted price for grain over the last number of years has been at the bottom end of the market. As one of the main buyers of grain, their price effectively caps the price paid by the trade for green grain," he said.
There was no comment from the company yesterday but on Monday its agri-business chief executive, Colm Eustace, said he appreciated how difficult the harvest was and continues to be.
"Overall there is an extra 53 million tonnes of grain in Europe after this year's harvest, which is regrettably having a huge impact on the market," he said.