The Annual General Meeting and 31^st annual conference of the European Association of Livestock Markets (AEMB) took place at the Hodson Bay Hotel, Roscommon, hosted by Association President, Michael Spellman, Chairman of ICOS National Marts Committee.

It was addressed by European Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan;  Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter;  John Horgan, Managing Director of Kepak Group, Michael Sheahan, Senior Superintendent Veterinary Inspector, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine; Darren Carty, Irish Farmers Journal, and chaired by Justin McCarthy, Editor of The Irish Farmers Journal.   Delegates attended from Bulgaria, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland. The event was organised by ICOS, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society.

Addressing delegates, Michael Spellman said:

AEMB defends and promotes the role of the livestock markets at international and EU level and the organisation is as relevant and needed in 2015 as it was in 1983. Back in 1983 we didn’t have the same level of challenge to our business model. Now we have numerous regulatory pressures to contend with.

By way of illustration, animal welfare groups are constantly lobbying Europe to simply close down all livestock markets. Their simplistic view of the world is that a livestock market is a place where all animals are mistreated daily. This is simply a false view.

It is in all livestock markets interests that animals are treated properly and with respect. Poor animal welfare is poor business and none of our markets want that.  The increased emphasis by livestock markets on training of drovers and on safer and more welfare oriented design of handling facilities is illustrative of the ongoing commitment of our livestock markets to improving animal welfare.

The EU animal traceability systems that now exist in 2015 are a far cry from what was in place in 1983. On balance our livestock markets have fully embraced the animal identification and movement systems. This enables all involved in the food chain to verify where animals have come from and where they are destined for. These systems have considerable costs associated with their introduction and maintenance.  Notwithstanding this, livestock markets have introduced these measures to ensure the fair and transparent system that exists in the livestock markets is preserved.

Recent legislation on Producer Organisations has been enacted at EU level. It is important that we ensure that there is no displacement effect on the part of Producer Groups in those countries that already have efficiently operating livestock markets.  Markets that  are already providing collective bargaining power to farmers in their catchment for many years and we must ensure that our livestock marts can continue to provide this service to all our farmers across the EU.

Livestock markets are the price setters for the meat trade.  Their absence in the market place results in a lack of competition and a reduction in free trade. This fact was never better illustrated than back in 2001 during the foot and mouth outbreak across the UK. When markets were allowed to resume free trade, the prices of beef and lamb increased by almost 20% in one week of trading.

Beef and lamb production without livestock markets is the ideal situation for retailers and meat processors to control prices and ensure maximum profits for their industries. We must ensure that livestock markets thrive and all false and bogus claims around animal welfare and meat quality are challenged constantly.

Modern livestock markets have embraced change over the last 30 years and centres have constantly improved their buildings and equipment. Nowadays livestock markets have equipment adapted to the relevant legislation laid down by the EU and national governments.  Many livestock markets have exceeded these standards in order to maintain their efficiency, to improve the facilities and image of the livestock market.

The large multinational retailers are constantly thinking of new and creative ways to minimise the throughput of cattle and sheep through livestock markets. They know they must compete in a fair manner for livestock, in a livestock market but can offer poorer prices to farmers, if animals are sold privately.

In Ireland a farmer will be penalised by 12 cents/kilo if they trade their cattle in a livestock market 70 days before slaughter.

The reasons we are given is that the consumer demands this. However we have yet to see the real question the consumer was asked as many of these so called independent surveys create a question to suit the answer required. One answer that seems to be common amongst these surveys is to remove the open and fair competition that exists in a livestock market and therefore we will penalise farmers when they sell in livestock markets.

All consumers want their food produced and farmed in a sustainable, welfare friendly and efficient manner and for the vast majority of consumers the price per kilo is their real concern. It is also the large retailer’s primary concern, they continue to grow their margin per kilo year on year, at the expense of the primary producer.

In 1983 the farmer received almost 40% of the final consumer price of a kilo of beef with the processors netting approximately 30% and retailers the remaining 30%. Today the primary producers take has halved to 21% with the processors having fallen only slightly to 28% but the retailers margin now stands at 51% and growing all the time at the expense of the primary producer.

This profiteering by the large retailers at the expense of the primary producer must stop or all European farmers will be mere servants to ever increasing corporate profits. The EU has committed itself to investigating and will hopefully ensure all sectors of EU food production have fair play and we await Commissioner Hogan’s response on this.

Livestock markets across the EU as represented by the AEMB are an economic necessity for farmers to trade freely their animals and we must ensure that all challenges to our system of free trade are rejected and the livestock markets and the AEMB will be a strong and vibrant organisation into the future.

Michael Spellman is President of the European Association of Livestock Markets (AEMB).

Ireland’s livestock mart sector includes over 60 co-operative mart centres across the country.   Over one million cattle are sold in Ireland every year in co-operative livestock marts.  90% of Irish beef is exported to more than 50 countries worldwide.  70% of Irish sheep meat is exported. The main export markets are the UK and France.

ICOS (the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society) represents co-operatives and organisations in Ireland – including the Irish dairy processing co-operatives and livestock marts – whose associated businesses have a combined turnover in the region of €14 billion, with some 150,000 individual members, employing 12,000 people in Ireland, and a further 24,000 people overseas.