This is a subscriber-only article
Tesco Ireland will maintain the same price it is paying for beef up to June 2020, the retailer has announced.
Tesco Ireland does not negotiate with or pay farmers directly and it has advised its beef processor suppliers of its decision today. It said it was very conscious of the pressure that beef farmers were under with beef prices falling and other major purchasers and markets disappearing.
It makes sense to honour the market conditions for beef as they were pre-COVID-19
Joe Manning, the company’s commercial director said: ““These are unprecedented times for everyone and it makes sense to honour the market conditions for beef as they were pre-COVID-19 in January of this year.
“Beef farmers, as a very busy and critical essential service at this time, need to be supported. We want to support our beef farming families by continuing to pay the same price to our processors for the next three months, as it has been since the start of 2020 when COVID-19 wasn’t a factor.”
Tesco UK
Reacting to the move, IFA president Tim Cullinan said a similar commitment was needed from Tesco in the UK. Cullinan said he had made the point to Tesco in discussions prior to today’s announcement.
“Tesco is backdating this commitment to January. Processors have to step up and rewind the cuts of 20c/kg since COVID-19 began,” he said.
While the beef market was in turmoil, there were also huge price drops on lamb and real concern about other commodities
He called on Tesco to extend the commitment across all its food lines.
“While the beef market was in turmoil, there were also huge price drops on lamb and real concern about other commodities,” he said.
Cullinan also called on the other major retailers to make a similar price promise.
“What we need is a concentrated effort across the supply chain to steady markets. I would call on meat processors to support farmers at this time.”
SHARING OPTIONS: