Protests at the State's largest lamb processing plants, which have brought the sector to a standstill, are costing farmers and factories at least €5 million a day, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) said last night.
Cormac Healy of MII, which represents the majority of the country's meat plants, said the sheep farmers and factories were losing out because of the dispute over the prices farmers are receiving from the factories.
"Disrupting the trade by closing all the plants down, which means we cannot service our overseas customers, does not make sense," he said.
He added that it was particularly damaging at a sensitive time in the marketing year.
"Farmers must know that they are causing major damage to their industry and they must also be aware that French customers will look to their own farmers or to Britain for alternative supplies," he said.
Mr Healy, who confirmed that none of the six plants which have been the focus of protests by the Irish Farmers' Association since earlier this week are in production, repeated the assertion that the markets determined the prices being paid to farmers and markets were currently weak.
But yesterday the IFA complained that factories were using lambs from Northern Ireland to undermine the price to local suppliers.
Laurence Fallon, chairman of the IFA's national sheep committee, claimed that imports from Britain into Northern Ireland had increased by a massive 163 per cent for the month of March compared to last year, amounting to 17,550 head.
Protests by sheep farmers outside the meat plants are expected to continue until next Friday.