Sinn Féin Councillor Conor D. McGuinness has welcomed the the publication this week of the Beef Price Transparency Bill 2019 by Sinn Féin. The Bill, if passed, will provide much needed transparency for Irish farmers with regard to beef pricing through the establishment of a beef market observatory designed to report on cattle prices on a daily basis.
McGuinness said:
“The reality facing beef farmers is that they are unable to sustain production at the current price they are taking. A huge frustration being expressed by beef farmers is the failure of the meat industry to provide any transparency on their margins or the prices they can secure for beef on the export market. What we need is beef price transparency right across the supply chain.
“Beef farmers have very little information on which to determine whether or not they are being given a fair price for a carcass. How is that fair? The current lack of transparency plays into the hands of the processors who are taking advantage of the situation.
“This Bill will provide for the establishment of a reliable source of data on the prices being received for beef products right throughout the supply chain. Under the legislation, the Minister will be mandated to establish a beef market observatory which will report on the price of cattle per kilogram, the live weight, the dressed weight, the quality grade, and of any premiums or discounts associated with the transaction.
“Without this basic information the entire beef industry lacks credibility and leaves open the possibility of price exploitation. Sinn Féin wants to work with all the stakeholders in the beef sector to see the Irish market develop in a fair and sustainable way.”
The Bill will be introduced in the Dáil by Sinn Féin this autumn and can be accessed here.
Cllr. Conor D. McGuinness 