IFA is warning of strike action locally if egg producers do not receive the full payments that they were promised by egg packers under an agreement made six weeks ago. Egg packers made a deal with supermarkets in October that they would be paid an extra 3c/egg by the retailers and since then just Aldi and Lidl have complied with the terms.
An agreement was subsequently reached to pass back an extra 1.2c/egg to the primary producer.
IFA's Ulster/North Leinster Chairman, Frank Brady, told Northern Sound that the UK is now prepared to pay primary producers in Ireland for their eggs. He added that farmers and food producers will start supplying food, only to those countries that are prepared to pay them.
"Either they [the supermarkets] want us to produce eggs or they don't and if they don't want us to produce them, then we will export them to England. A number of packers in the UK have already expressed a strong interest in buying our eggs and if that's what has to be done, then unfortunately that is what has to be done.
"Farmers have gone out of business because they cannot produce the eggs at the price the consumer wants them and the price they are getting," said Mr Brady.
