Northern Ireland poultry feed costs
McCartin questioned why feed is cheaper in cereal-surplus Ireland’s cereal-deficient neighbour; the Minister cited Northern Ireland’s fewer mills and bulk purchasing as a likely competitive advantage.
Has the Minister considered why feed should be cheaper in Northern Ireland, which is a total deficiency area for the production of cereals, when we are a surplus area? If this is a problem with the poultry industry it requires deep analysis.
Comment on this
It is one of the many things that require deep analysis and I am not an analyst. I understand that one of the main reasons is that there are only three milling concerns in Northern Ireland whereas we have quite a number in the Republic. They buy in bulk vast quantities of materials and this gives them a competitive edge over us.