Figures released by Eblex this week show farm gate prices for beef have dropped while the price paid by consumers for beef has remained stable. The latest indication to March is that the producer share of final retail price is well below the 58 per cent received in March 2013, and three per cent below the 51 per cent received in the second half of 2013.

On Monday the NFU criticised the widening gap between the farm gate and retail price for beef. 

Andy Foot, NFU beef group chairman, said it was infuriating for farmers to see further reductions on the beef price when retailer margins to March had shown an increase.

Foot said, "Last year we heard from retailers that they wanted to source more British beef. They were keen to work with us to ensure a secure future for our farmers, and I am bitterly disappointed to see how short their memories are.

"We work in an industry with a long production cycle and low margins and we simply cannot afford to be toyed with. It is a significant investment to buy store cattle, let alone suckler cows, so how is a farmer meant to do so with any degree of confidence of a return on his or her investment when you can see prices slashed overnight?"

"Farmers are going to feel betrayed that this drop in price also comes in the middle of Great British Beef Week, at a time when retailers should be supporting beef production.  A sustainable price does not mean paying just enough to get by on, it means paying enough to actually re-invest in your business to meet future demand and challenges, including climate change."

NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe added, "I had hoped that off the back of the legacy of the horse meat scandal, and Great British Beef Week, we would see retailers living up to their promise to engage with the supply chain, and like Andy, I am deeply disappointed to see this drive to force down prices down. With retailers making an increasing margin from beef, farmers need to see an end to this short termism. This is completely incompatible with an industry that works in years rather than months."