Allan Jess, president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, has reacted strongly to a statement issued by the National Beef Association which, he says, is clearly "living on a different planet".
In a press statement issued yesterday, the NBA said: "The price arm-lock, with which slaughterers pinned down feeders after the export ban of March 1996 put them in almost total control, has been removed, at last, by a dramatic turnaround in global and domestic market forces which have put the farmer on top and should relegate the previously dominant abattoir sector to the role of second player."
The NBA also accused the UK's most powerful processors of making determined efforts to knock late summer's deadweight averages back to 230p.
That prompted Jess to hit back and say: "NBA are talking utter nonsense and seem to be living on a different planet. It's a long time since the price of prime cattle was 230p a kilo.
"This statement from NBA is a blatant attempt to cause trouble and damage relationships between processors and producers which are, on the whole, very good.
"Comments like this are unfounded and unhelpful and do nothing for the reputation of NBA. NBA would be better spending their time campaigning for measures under the Common Agricultural Policy health check to increase production and secure a sustainable beef industry in Scotland in the future."
Jess added that cattle supplies in Scotland were becoming tighter by the month, while "at the same time, price pressures at the consumer end of the meat chain are making it increasingly difficult for processors to maintain acceptable business margins".
He said: "The bottom line is that we've had a 7% reduction in calf registrations in Scotland between 2004 and 2007 with a very similar story for GB in total. It's no surprise, therefore, that supplies are currently very tight. How we begin to return the industry to a more balanced supply position is a less easy question to answer.
"As an association we've made it clear throughout the year that some form of direct support must be given to producers to restore production levels to the sort of numbers we need to maintain a viable Scottish meat industry. The tighter supplies get, the more compelling the case for direct support becomes."
Kim Haywood, the NBA director who issued the release, is on holiday. But Ian Mathers, the NBA's Scotland chairman, stood by her statement.
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