Speaking to a packed house of producers at Thursday night's UFU emergency beef meeting in Loughry College, NIMEA chief executive Phelim O'Neill added that, most weeks, factories in Northern Ireland are giving more for cows and OTMS stock than is the case in GB.
"The figures supplied by the LMC confirm that for the week ending November 08 local farmers were better off to the tune of almost £105,000 compared with producers in the South of England, when all reported classes of cattle are taken into consideration. And the equivalent figure for the week ending November 22 was almost £12,000," he pointed out.
"However, there was a problem during week ending November 15. The figures show that producers in Northern Ireland lost out to the tune of just over £100,000, again when all classes of cattle are taken into consideration.
The NIMEA representative went on to point out that the meat industry in Southern Ireland had killed an additional 40,000 head of cattle during the third week of October and all this extra beef had hit the UK market a month later.
"In a normal year, this meat would have been frozen, stored and put on to the market in late Spring," he further explained.
"But with the credit crunch at its height and the banks under pressure, the decision was taken to sell this beef as fresh product during the third week of November. As a result, market prices fell, leaving plants in Northern Ireland with the option of either not buying cattle or paying a price for stock which reflected the prevailing market conditions."
Phelim O Neill continued: "The media is full of headlines telling local beef farmers that they are currently losing out to the tune of £250,000 every week. This is not true and the figures for Northern Ireland, when analysed properly, bear this point out."
During the question and answer session which followed, many of the farmers in attendance expressed their anger at local meat plants' practice of paying lower prices for prime cattle when compared with the farmer returns available in Great Britain.
Figures produced by LMC's Dr Mike Tempest at the meeting confirmed that relatively small numbers of cattle are being shipped live to Scotland at the present time - currently around 500 per week. However, it was pointed out by UFU president Graham Furey that TB restrictions on many farms are severely hampering this trade at the present time. A show of hands then confirmed that a significant proportion of the farmers in attendance are currently locked up with TB.
On the subject of pricing policy both Phelim O'Neill and NIMEA president Campbell Tweedie indicated that the plants will consider re-structuring their current payment policies in order to give greater preference to clean cattle.
"The total cake will remain the same," explained NIMEA's chief executive.
"The issue is that of reflecting the value of clean cattle within this. And I think now is an appropriate time for the entire beef industry to debate this matter in an open and constructive manner."
The NIMEA team also highlighted the tremendous grant benefits enjoyed by the entire meat industry in the Republic of Ireland.
"Under the current Northern Ireland Regional Development Plan, livestock farmers in Northern Ireland will receive £513 million between now and 2013," Phelim O'Neill pointed out.
"The equivalent figure for Southern Ireland is £6.6 billion. What's more meat plants in the South can avail of capital grant aid package valued at £64 million while here in Northern Ireland factories must deal on an individual basis with Invest NI.
He concluded: "Meat plants in Northern Ireland are currently making an annual profit of 4% on total turnover, before tax and depreciation. This figure was confirmed in last year's Red Meat taskforce Report. Companies need to make profits in order to survive. But to portray these businesses as making fortunes on the back of farmers is wrong!"
Meanwhile the Ulster Farmers' Union says its fight will go on to remove the beef price differential between Northern Ireland and Great Britain for prime cattle.
Speaking after the Loughry College meeting Union president Graham Furey confirmed that the many farmers in attendance challenged meat plant representatives to explain why prices for local steers, heifers and young bulls are lower than in the rest of the UK.
He added: "Farmers were not given a satisfactory explanation as to why their prime cattle prices are lower in Northern Ireland. Meat plant representatives have argued that better prices for Over Thirty Month animals and cows balances the situation, but the future of our beef industry needs to focus on quality beef and our focus is on why steers, heifers and young bulls in Northern Ireland are being devalued. The meeting gave beef farmers an opportunity to let the meat plants see first hand the strength of feeling there is among producers about this issue".
UFU Beef and Lamb Chairman William Taylor told Farming Life that the Union remains fully committed to getting progress on this issue.
"There should be an incentive for quality beef but in fact the opposite is happening. The beef price differential is unjustifiable and we are determined to get it removed permanently," he confirmed.
UUP MEP Jim Nicholson said he shares the concern expressed by the UFU on the clear and unacceptable disparity in prices received by beef farmers in Northern Ireland compared to other parts of the UK.
In a statement Mr Nicholson said: "Northern Ireland beef finishers have always received less than their counterparts in Scotland and England but there can be no excuse accepted for this new and increased price differential.
Northern Ireland beef should at least have parity with other regions. I have listened to some of the reasons given but I consider them to be very weak. It is clear that we need improved marketing but that in itself is not the answer.
Meat plants do play a central role as do the supermarkets. If this is where the problem is it must be identified and solutions found. Meat processors must spell out clearly and without ambiguity how such a difference has happened because if this situation is allowed to continue the finishing of beef animals in Northern Ireland will be no more.
Farmers cannot be expected to continue under such a financial burden and go out of business while others profit. This must end now."