Speaking after a meeting of the board in Builth Wells last week, board chairman Ed Rees said the price of finished beef cattle had levelled off in the last 12 months and lamb prices have suffered a sharp downturn in recent weeks.

The trends further jeopardised livestock farm incomes, which are already the lowest in the industry.

“We estimate that beef producers need at least an extra £1 per kilogram to cover all costs and leave a small margin for re-investment, while the price of finished lamb would need to increase by around 62p/kg to leave a lamb finisher with a meaningful profit,” said Mr Rees.

“In recent months we have repeatedly called on retailers not to turn their backs on home-reared beef and lamb in favour of cheaper imports and emphasised the need to provide farmers with the correct market signals.

“British retailers and processors need to understand that in a world where support is decoupled from production, farmers must be profitable in order to sustain an important industry.

Source: ic Wales