Dairy farmers target Ballinasloe Tesco in price protest

Up to 40 frustrated local dairy farmers protested at the Tesco store in Ballinasloe last weekend as part of a new wave of unofficial action against the supermarket giant"s recent milk price cuts to suppliers. The farmers, many of whom hailed from the Athlone area, are believed to have entered the Sarsfield road outlet last Friday evening, filling their trolleys with goods but leaving without buying them in a bid to highlight their anger at the recent prices slash by the chain to farmers while increasing profit margins. Participants in the unofficial action also hoped the incident would highlight the discrepancy between what the farmer is paid and the price of a litre of milk in Tesco among consumers doing their weekly shop at the busy time. A protest which was due to take place in Tesco, Golden Island, Athlone was abandoned on Friday night as the group opted to travel instead to neighbouring Ballinasloe. It"s understood there may be more of what farmers have called 'spontaneous' type of protests around the Midlands over the coming weeks as anger over the issue rises. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, IFA Chairman Paddy Donnelly said the unofficial protests in Ballinasloe and Tullamore were not organised by the farming organisation but he understood the stand the group took against Tesco as they fight to survive in the ailing industry. 'Dairy farmers are suffering very badly at present with a historic low in prices. They are getting 20 or 21c a litre for milk, and it actually costing them 25c to produce it as costs have risen in recent times with more feed needed because of the bad weather,' he commented. Commenting on the situation this week, Fine Gael Councillor in the Athlone area John Dolan, himself a dairy farmer stated: 'Farmers are losing money, processors tell us they are losing money and their accounts show that, so that leaves only one party making money - the retailer.' 'I"m reliably informed that the retailer is making more than the farmer gets to produce the milk. My point is if Tesco want to make milk cheaper they should cut their own profits first,' he concluded.