Beef processing to end at Llanidloes abattoir

Randall Parker Foods said its cattle line in Powys could be reinstated "should the economics of slaughtering cattle change"

One of the biggest abattoirs in Wales is set to stop processing beef, in a decision the company says is based entirely on cost.

The change at Randall Parker Foods' (RPF) abattoir in Llanidloes, Powys has led to concerns more farmers will have to travel across the border to England.

Only one large abattoir in Wales will now accept cattle for processing.

RPF said the decision was "down to falling volumes, negative margins and spiralling costs of production".

But the company, which will now be focusing on its lamb business, said the cattle line could be reinstated "should the economics of slaughtering cattle change".

"Over the past few years we have seen weekly numbers drop from over 400, down to as low as 80 per week," it said.

'Big concern'

Gareth Evans, who sources meat for Castell Howell Foods and Celtic Pride, said processing cattle locally was vital for the Welsh beef brand.

"It will affect us as a business as we slaughter there every two to three weeks," he said.

"[The cattle] will have to travel further afield which has a cost implication on the farmers and the further an animal has to travel will have implications on the quality of the meat."

Randall Parker Foods said the decision to stop slaughtering cows in Powys was entirely down to cost

Mr Evans said slaughtering beef over the border was "a big concern".

"We need to keep the work in Wales, to keep jobs and the industry viable."

Of the three large abattoirs in Wales, only the St Merryn abattoir in Merthyr Tydfil will continue to accept cattle.

Smaller abattoirs in Wales will continue to process cattle in smaller numbers.

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Dafydd Parry Jones, a farmer from Penegoes, near Machynlleth, said his food miles had increased with the changes at RPF.

"Over the past 15 years, we have been fattening the cattle and have been happy to take them to our local abattoir in Llanidloes.

"It's been very convenient. Our cattle will now travel to Yorkshire, which is around 200 miles away.

"It's a big change, with larger cost implications."

Farmer Dafydd Parry Jones said the change had been "very inconvenient"

RPF said demand for carcass beef had "plummeted over the past few years".

Butchers and wholesalers want "vacuum packed, ready to sell products with no waste or butchery costs attached", it added.