The Ulster Farmers’ Union deputy president Victor Chestnutt said that the joint venture between Fane Valley and ABP is interesting news but has warned that both companies must ensure that competition is not hindered. “Both companies are firmly established in Northern Ireland and ABP taking a 50 per cent stake in Linden Foods will cause some farmers alarm and raise questions about competition.”
Mr Chestnutt added that it will be important that the company continues to value it’s suppliers in Northern Ireland and they must ensure they continue to offer competitive prices for livestock. “It is early days but ultimately we will judge the success of this new venture on the future producer returns for cattle and sheep. Despite the buoyant prices at the minute, profitability on beef and sheep farms remains low,” said Mr Chestnutt.
