The Ulster Farmers’ Union have met with Moy Park this week to reiterate that the current state of the broiler industry is totally unsustainable.
UFU Deputy President Ian Marshall said; “We were very blunt at our meeting with Moy Park this week – growers are operating at a substantial loss and the situation is totally unsustainable. The problem has become cumulatively worse over the past few months and this is much more than a short term tough spell. UFU members, who are new and existing growers supplying both the Ballymena and Dungannon factories, are telling us that there is a fundamental supply chain issue which we believe needs to be addressed urgently. We have discussed this with Senior Management from Moy Park and while the vertical integration model has worked in the past, the UFU is pushing for this model to be re-examined in order to restore profitability to growers. The latest growers’ returns were extremely disappointing and farmers are not only expressing concern for their businesses but also for the wellbeing of their families during this stressful and uncertain time.
“There is a new mood among the UK’s supermarkets and the NI Executive to show their support in sourcing local food, and this is opening up new potential avenues for local producers and processors. It is in Moy Park’s interest to pay a fair price to their growers to ensure the company will be in a prime position to help fill these contracts when the time comes.
“At the meeting, the UFU and Moy Park agreed that going forward Moy Park will discuss the technical issues with their internal grower committees. I am confident that Moy Park now realise the full extent of the situation and I hope to see some meaningful action taken urgently by them to address this issue.”
