Vol. 402 No. 6
25 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the steps he is taking to convince meat factory owners to pay the intervention price for cattle to farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
As I have already pointed out on several occasions I am concerned to ensure that the benefits of the Community intervention system are passed on to beef producers in the prices they are paid for their cattle by meat processors. In this connection I recently met representatives of the meat trade and impressed on them the need to ensure that producer prices adequately and fairly reflect the value of Community supports. To enable this to be more effectively done I agreed to have my Department implement a number of improvements in the operation of the intervention system including a 1p per lb increase in the deboning allowance. I am pleased to note that since then prices paid by export factories to producers have increased by some 2 per cent.
The question of the price to be paid for cattle is, of course, one for negotiation between farmers and processors. Nobody wishes to change that. Nevertheless I would strongly emphasise the necessity of ensuring that the value of Community supports are fully reflected in producer prices.
