Irish Farmers Association (IFA) held simultaneous protests outside Dunnes Stores in Cork and Monaghan to highlight the failure of the retail sector to give price increases to suppliers to address cost increases at the farm level.
President of the Irish Farmers Association Tim Cullinan has called on the Government to intervene in the dispute over prices between farmers and retailers.
Mr. Cullinane said Government inaction on retail legislation had left farmers without any power in the food chain and called on the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Charlie McConalogue, to step in.
Meanwhile, pig and poultry farmers are continuing their protests outside two branches of Dunnes Stores.
They are demanding higher prices for their produce as production costs soar.
IFA protests at Dunnes Stores branches in Cork and Monaghan began yesterday morning, but having failed to get any response from the company to a request for a meeting to discuss what farmers are paid for produce, the protest continued overnight.
Customer entrances to the Dunnes Stores carpark in Bishopstown in Cork have been blockaded with farm vehicles.
The protestors are mainly pig and poultry farmers who say they cannot sustain rising costs of energy, feed, and other inputs if prices paid to them do not also rise.
The IFA met with the management of Tesco, Centra Sueprvalue, and Lidl in recent days but so far Dunne Stores management have not been available. The company has not responded to requests for comment from RTÉ News.
News credit: RTE