With beef prices strengthening and less cattle for processing, 2015 is forecast to be a positive year for the beef sector. Factories across the country are reporting strong demand with prices on the rise. Base prices for heifers have moved beyond €4.10/kg and are rising to as high as €4.15-€4.20/kg.

Steer prices are slower to rise but demand remains strong, with base prices of €4-€4.05/kg available.

Calf prices have had an exceptional start to 2015. Sales in Bandon and Kilmallock saw month-old Simmental, Aberdeen Angus and Limousin calves sell for between €400 and €420.

Northern Ireland

North of the border, prices have risen steadily over the past month, with quotes of £3.70/kg (€4.78/kg) readily available for U3 cattle.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that some farmers in the Republic of Ireland are taking an £80 (€103) penalty for slaughtering nomad cattle from the south in plants in the north.

Strengthening beef prices come as new figures reveal that 2014 had one of the highest beef kills in recent years.

A total of 1.64m cattle were processed in 2014, an increase of 153,000 head when compared with 2013. As well as an increase in the total volume of cattle being processed, there was 9kg increase in average carcase weights. This led to total beef production rising from 518,000t in 2013 to 585,000t last year.

Reduction

Bord Bia meat specialist Joe Burke is forecasting a reduction in beef production in 2015. Burke expects beef production to return to a more normal 1.5m head this year, with some 60,000 fewer male and 41,000 fewer female cattle to be processed. Burke also expects live exports to remain strong, which will also limit numbers for processing.

IFA livestock chairman Henry Burns said that the live export trade must be maintained in the light of improved beef prices as a way of driving competition.

“A strong live export trade is essential to maximise price competition and ensure a balance in cattle supplies relative to market demand in order to optimise prices and avoid the marketing problems which occurred in 2014,” Burns said.