Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

"Dairy farmers need a fair price now!" - Murphy

Published: 24 July, 2009

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy has echoed calls by MEP Bairbre de Brún who has said that the EU needs to take action to ensure that the current problems that are forcing farmers out of the dairy industry can be resolved.

Ms de Brún made the call in response to a report from the European Commission which has ruled out action on milk quotas but stressed the need to look at the relationship between the prices paid to farmers for milk and by consumers in the shops.

Mr Murphy said,

"I would echo the calls that my party colleague Bairbre de Brún had made. Clearly the logic of the Commission's report is that there is a situation where farmers are not getting a fair price for what they are producing. Immediate action is required. Farmers cannot continue to produce at a loss and price levels at present are having an enormous impact on the welfare of farmers and farm families.

"If the European Commission is pointing now to the question of price transmission between producers, processors and retailers, then they need to lay out a concrete path by which they feel they can make a real difference to producers. Dairy farmers need a fair price and they need it now."