There has been very little change in the factory trade over the past week. The kill of 35,736 head is allowing factories to source sufficient stock without having to raise base quotes.

ABP, Dawn and Kepak plants continue to offer most sellers a base of €3.65/kg for steers and €3.70/kg for heifers. There are some sellers with large numbers securing 5c/kg extra, but most cattle are moving at the initial quotes.

Independent plants have steadied their quotes, with steers trading at €3.70/kg and heifers at €3.75/kg. There are still a small number of deals at €3.80/kg reported for large lots of in-spec heifers.

The UK trade has steadied with a huge differential of €0.90/kg to €1.00/kg remaining between Irish and British prices. EBLEX price reporting shows R4L steers trading at £3.61/kg, or the equivalent of €4.80/kg including VAT. R4L heifers are trading at £3.56/kg, or €4.73/kg including VAT.

At current prices, this represents an average differential of €330 to €350 per head on a 330kg heifer carcase and 350kg steer carcase. The Northern trade has also steadied with most cattle moving at a U-3 base of £3.50/kg (€4.65/kg including VAT).

The improvement in the Northern trade has presented an opportunity for agents purchasing for the butcher and wholesale trade to capitalise on the differential and a strong food service trade.

Mart managers report northern agents significantly increasing activity in the last two weeks, with Northern buyers driving the trade for slaughter-fit stock in many mart sales. The general price paid for R and U grading steers and heifers ranges on average from €2.00/kg to €2.15/kg.

Bull slide continues: The bull kill continues its downward spiral, with 1,602 bulls killed last week.

Factory agents are much more active to secure bulls, with discussions on age and weight limits disappearing and plants doing deals up to 500kg carcase weight for bulls up to 24 months of age.

R and U grade bulls are selling in the main for €3.70/kg and €3.80/kg, respectively, with some sellers negotiating a flat price of €3.80/kg for mixed lots of mostly U and smaller numbers of R grade bulls.

The volume of Friesian bulls trading is small, with O grade bulls trading from €3.35/kg to €3.45/kg.

Weather slowing cows: Strong grass supplies and relatively good grazing conditions have reduced the normal seasonal increase in the throughput of cows.

O grading Friesian cows are selling from €2.90/kg in plants not active in the cow market to €3.10/kg. P+3 grading cows are selling from €2.85/kg to €3.10/kg, with numbers traded again having an influence on price.

O grade traditional and continental bred cows are trading from €3.20 to €3.35/kg with R grades to €3.40/kg to €3.45/kg. U grade cows are selling from €3.45/kg to €3.60/kg at the top of the market for young, heavy-carcase cows.

The mart trade remains a good option for sellers having difficulty negotiating on price. Factory-fit R and U grade cows are selling from €1.75/kg to €1.90/kg, with muscled U grade cows selling to €2/kg or slightly above.