Cattle tag prices fall as competition kicks in

THE introduction of competition for the supply of cattle tags has yielded its first success with the announcement by one new supplier that it will reduce the cost of tags by nearly 10pc.

Cormac Tagging, based at Tuam, Co Galway said it would undercut the current cost by 22 cents per conventional cattle tissue tag, along with a deal on the cost of the tag applicator.

The company, which was set up by sheep equipment inventor TJ Gormley, is the first to be approved by the Department of Agriculture for cattle tags since the original licence to sell tags was issued to Mullinahone CoOp (Euro Tags) over a decade ago.

A third application for the supply of cattle tags is still being assessed by the Department of Agriculture.

However, it will be another few days before Cormac Tagging will be able to send out tags.

“The paperwork will be completed within a couple of days once the Department are satisfied with our IT system, which I am confident will meet their requirements and we are then ready to supply farmers,” said Mr Gormley.

Following a change in the regulations the new contracts are only being issued for 12 months, whereas previously the contract was for two years, with an option to extend for a further two-year period.

Cormac Tagging said that the conventional tissue tags will be supplied at €2.68 including VAT and the ICBF levy of 38c.

However, farmers can now choose to opt out of the ICBF levy. This applies to all tag suppliers, including Mullinahone Co-op. They raised the price of their standard tag set from €2.70 to €2.90, including VAT.

A further sweetener from Cormac Tagging is the supply of a free applicator worth nearly €22 with orders for 50 tags. Electronic cattle tags will cost €3.95 which is similar to the current market price.

In addition, Cormac Tagging has pledged to supply free replacement tags for the duration of the 12-month contract.

The firm claims that the Caisley tags that they distribute have a loss rate of less than 1pc.

The Galway supplier has been trying to secure a slice of the lucrative cattle tag market for the past 14 years and is the current supplier of tags for sheep, goats and pigs.

The ICSA has claimed that the price reductions by the new supplier vindicates their campaign to open up the tag supply contract to more suppliers.

ICSA president Patrick Kent said that the “draconian regime around tag loss puts farmers in a very vulnerable position and we have always believed that replacement tags should be free with certain safeguards to avoid abuse.

“Free replacement tags will put pressure on all tag manufacturers to improve the durability of tags which should become the norm.”

ICMSA deputy president Pat McCormack said that the association is emphatic that farmers should not have to accept any increase in the cost of tags.