Beef factory operators were accused last night of breaking the historic agreement on beef prices which ended the Irish Farmers' Association occupation of the Department of Agriculture last week.
In a related move, a Department spokesman has advised farmers not to sell cattle to factories which do not pay the agreed figure of 80.7p per lb from today.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association president, Mr Frank Allen, said yesterday the agreed price for R grade animals this week was to have been 80p per lb.
"All factories contacted by the ICMSA yesterday were quoting 76p per lb, " he said.
He called on the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh, to get last week's agreed price of 80p per lb paid immediately. "Failure by the factories to honour the price agreement will confirm their greed in difficult times for farmers," said Mr Allen.
In a statement from Luxembourg, where he was attending a meeting of farm ministers, Mr Walsh said there was no reason why the benefits of strengthened supports for the beef sector should not be fully reflected in cattle prices.
He said the new intervention agreements had put an effective floor on cattle prices at reasonable levels.
In addition, the latest 4p per lb increase in export refunds on top of the 5p per lb granted two weeks ago laid the ground for a further strengthening of cattle prices in the weeks ahead.
The Minister said that, in view of these developments, there was no justification for meat factories to hold cattle prices at the low levels which obtained last week.
