Sugar company moves to close down

Irish Sugar is to begin the "orderly closedown" of its plants in Carlow and Mallow today as its row with farmers over the price of beet continues.

A spokesman for the Greencore-owned company said it was running out of beet to process following the decision by the Irish Farmers' Association to withhold supplies since Wednesday.

The IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, who held meetings outside both plants with protesting farmers last night, said the dispute could still be settled by agreement on a price increase that acknowledged the position of both sides.

"There is a mood amongst growers to go the last mile for a settlement and they are prepared to consider a realistic price increase offer from Greencore, to take account of the growers' rising costs of production," he said.

The company spokesman, however, said it had made its position clear since last January. The company was prepared to pay the same price for sugar beet as last year, although this put it at a disadvantage compared to its French and British competitors.

It also wished to agree a mechanism with the IFA for independent arbitration on future prices. A closedown of the plants would take a couple of days to implement and the company would not resume processing unless it was guaranteed security of supply for the remainder of the sugar beet campaign, he said. Harvesting began in early October and is about one-third complete.

About 600 workers are employed at the two plants, the most vulnerable of whom are the 200 seasonal staff taken on for the duration of the beet campaign. The IFA claims the company has cut prices by 10 per cent this year, but this is denied by Irish Sugar.