IRISH CONSUMERS HAVE been ‘brainwashed’ into paying €5 or less for steak, despite the costs involved.

That’s the view of some farmers, who say that the current price of beef isn’t reflective of the amount of work that goes into producing it.

“Fast-food outlets like McDonald’s can charge over €6 for a burger meal,” said Patrick Kent of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association. “How can we be expected to believe that discerning consumers won’t pay more for premium Irish steak?”

Kent said that supermarkets have told farmers they can’t get any more than €5 for a steak “yet they have no problem charging more than that for certain brands of mouthwash, which you essentially spit down the sink,” he said.

The price of steak varies wildly, depending on the cut, as can be seen in a brief comparison of prices across SuperValu, Tesco, and Aldi:

SuperValu: 

SuperValu SuperValu

Tesco: 

Tesco Tesco

Aldi: 

Aldi Aldi

Kent said that it was a major “marketing failure” that supermarkets can charge €15 for razor blades “and yet they have convinced shoppers that they should pay less than €5 per person for steak”.

He said that producing “top quality beef” involves between two and three years of farming activity and this should be reflected in the price.

What do you think? Would you pay more for good quality meat? Or do you prefer the cheaper the better? Over to you in the comments… 

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