Agriculture committee calls for local beef produce to be prioritised

A STORMONT committee chaired by a West Tyrone MLA has called on Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to do all that he  can to ensure that local beef farmers are prioritised by both supermarkets and processors.

The Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee’s concerns arise from re-cent reports that the ABP Food Group,which supplies meat products to Sainsbury’s and ASDA, had, at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, been distributing Polish beef in lieu of local beef produce to supplement its existing supply arrangements to supermarkets.

Committee chairman, Declan McAleer,said, “While ABP has indicated that the supply of Polish beef was a temporary solution to meet the recent unprecedented needs of the consumer, the committee can-not fathom why the local processing sector was not in a position to meet this demand.

“The Covid-19 crisis is placing our local beef farmers under tremendous financial pressure, with many already facing hard-ship and an uncertain future.“It is crucial that the Minister recognises this, and does everything within his power to ensure that local farmers are prioritised and that the necessary systems are in place so that local processors can supply local produce.”

Mr McAleer warned the committee was further concerned that, for the farmer, prices were collapsing, despite what appeared to be an unprecedented demand for produce. He said, “We are calling on the Minister directly to outline the actions he is taking to provide assistance to our local beef farmers,and to ensure that as the most vital step in the food supply chain, they are fully sup-ported to meet the demands of this crisis.”

Mr McAleer added, “The committee would also take this opportunity to under-line to wholesale distributors and to consumers, the importance of buying local produce and supporting local retailers. The beef our local farmers produce is of the finest quality, we must all do our part to support and help them in sustaining their livelihoods during these uncertain and unprecedented times.”

The committee has also written to the supermarkets to voice its disappointment and concern and to ask that they ensure asimilar situation does not arise in the future.