Farmers warned that beef blockades may be illegal

The Irish Farmers’ Association has been warned that any further blockades of meat processing plants as part of the dispute with factories over beef prices may be illegal.

The warning came in a letter to IFA president Eddie Downey, from John Evans, the director of competition enforcement at the newly formed Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

The commission sparked a furious response from farmers this week when it said it had written to all sides in the beef dispute to warn that talks to resolve the row should not stray into the realm of price-fixing.

The letter to the IFA, which has been seen by The Irish Times, goes further than a warning over price-fixing, however, and suggests that farmers were breaking competition law when they blockaded 14 of the country's largest meat plants.

Supply cattle

“A decision by the IFA to organise a collective refusal by its members to supply cattle . . . until those processors increase their prices would involve a serious infringement of Irish and EU competition law,” Mr Evans wrote.

“A blockade of meat processor plants which is organised as a means of influencing the price . . . may also constitute such an infringement.”

The IFA said meat processors “must make a significant move on price” to boost factory-gate beef prices.

Beef specifications

A deal was struck in talks early on Thursday to solve several issues related to the dispute, covering beef specifications and penalties for weight and the age of cattle. However, the crux of the row – farmers want a higher price for their beef – remains unresolved.

The IFA’s executive council met to discuss the deal, and also the “next phase” of its campaign. Next week’s factory prices for beef will start to emerge today.

Meat processors, through the Ibec-affiliated Meat Industry Ireland (MII) group, say the price is set by market forces and cannot be influenced by any outside group.

Ciaran Fitzgerald, the group's, acknowledged that despite the deal struck, the pricing issue remained unresolved and processors had received no assurances that there would be no further blockades.