Mayo farmers expected to protest against recent milk cuts
Farming organisations in Mayo are expected to stage protests "very soon" following a wave of milk price cuts by major supermarket chains, a local councillor has warned.
Independent councillor and farmer John O'Malley raised the issue at a recent meeting of Mayo County Council, saying local producers are being unfairly targeted as multinational retailers slash milk prices to attract customers.
"Farming is more important than ever, we need to keep people producing food locally. We need to support our farmers," he said.
His comments come after five major supermarket chains announced cuts to their own-brand milk prices. Lidl led the way, reducing prices on 12 milk products, with Aldi quick to follow. Since then, Tesco, SuperValu, and Dunnes Stores have also lowered the cost of their own-brand milk.
Cllr O'Malley, a farmer by profession, said that while milk prices at processors had already been cut in recent months, the new price cuts from retailers risk causing further financial harm to farmers who are already under significant pressure.
"In August milk was cut by 2 cents a litre from the processor, and now when this new cut comes in, it will be cut even more," he said, "But everything else is going up. Why didn't they cut back on any other products? Why is it milk?"
He accused major supermarket chains of using price cuts to lure people into their stores, adding that such tactics hit farmers the hardest.
"Why is it the farmer being hit? Because they're an easy target," he told the meeting.
Cllr O'Malley also questioned why imported goods had not been hit with price reductions.
"They didn't bring down the price of flour because we import our flour," he said. "We are importing food and charging people for it, and then the food that we produce here, we cut the price on it to lure people in. I condemn them for it."
He warned that protests outside supermarket chains are now likely as farmers' frustration grows.
"We need to do something about it, and the farming organisations will be organising a protest very soon to ensure that the public knows what these people are at," he said.
The Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) has also criticised the recent supermarket price cuts, warning that they put further pressure on farmers' incomes at a time when input costs remain high and margins are tight.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.