Irish sheep sector in crisis
Irish sheep farming is in danger of being ‘obliterated completely’ with prices continuing to drop while input costs soar.
Irish Cattle and Sheep Association sheep chair Sean McNamara has warned sheep farmers urgently need answers from the Government on what support the sector will get, as prices look to plummet even further.
“Sheep farmers need help; it is as simple as that. Prices look set to dip below €6/kg (£5.24/kg) this week which is a travesty when you consider how much our input costs have gone up,” he said.
“The sector is in crisis and it is about time the Government acknowledged this.”
Mr McNamara highlighted this time last year prices were €7.30/kg (£6.37/kg), adding to survive this year farmers needed at least a euro more than that but they were now hearing of prices going as low as €5.80/kg (£5.06/kg).
“Imports of New Zealand lamb into China have been halted which is having a massive knock-on effect as New Zealand lamb is now flooding our traditional EU markets. We really need Bord Bia to step up and market our product properly so that consumers will choose Irish lamb above anything else.”
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