There has been more bite in the beef trade in the last week, with agents keen to retain a high level of throughput while processing supplies for the Christmas trade. Unfortunately, this hasn’t as yet translated into higher prices across the board.
Base quotes for steers continue to range in general from €3.60/kg to €3.65/kg. More sellers are securing the higher base, with sellers operating at the top end of the market starting to secure 3c/kg to 5c/kg extra.
A similar trend is evident in heifers with base quotes ranging in general from €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg. There are some sellers with large lots of choice heifers holding out for a base of €3.80/kg but factories are slow to loosen the purse strings with some deals done at €3.78/kg to secure sales.
Last week’s kill fell as expected with a four-day week but not massively with many plants utilising their extra capacity to handle higher numbers. Throughput reduced from 34,293 to 30,937 with steers falling by about 1,500 head and cows by over 1,000 head.
The fall in throughput in cows is likely to be the class of animal most affected by a day’s less processing, with some of the independent plants currently handling a higher percentage of cows. Prices are steady but remain variable. P+3 grading cows are selling from €2.80/kg to €2.95/kg in the main with fleshed O grades rising to €3.10/kg. R grading cows are selling from €3.10/kg to €3.25/kg with U grades to €3.30/kg and 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher in cow-specialist plants.
A significant percentage of the cow kill is currently Friesian cows coming straight from the parlour. Prices for light carcase P1 grading cows are starting as low as €2/kg, rising to €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg, with P2s rising to €2.50/kg to €2.60/kg.
Bull throughput has maintained its pro-rata recent increased share of the kill, with some finishers emptying sheds to house more cattle and more autumn-born under-16-month bulls coming on stream. Bulls less than 16 months are trading on a base of €3.65/kg, while bulls over 16 months are selling in the main from €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg for R grades and €3.80/kg to €3.85/kg for U grades. Small numbers of Friesian bulls are trading from €3.55/kg to €3.65/kg, with quality and flesh cover having a big influence on price.
Live trade improves
There is more life in the mart trade over the last week, with prices rising €20 to €30 per head. A trend that is emerging, however, is that confidence in winter finishing remains low, with higher demand for 2015-born continental cattle ranging from 440kg to 500kg and suitable for being finished off grass next summer. These are attracting more competition than similar age and quality cattle requiring a short finishing period.
NI trade booming
The Northern trade maintains its upward momentum. U3- base quotes have lifted 4p/kg to 6p/kg, ranging from £3.38/kg to £3.44/kg (equivalent €3.99/kg to €4.06/kg incl VAT).
Sellers continue to have scope to secure more from the market, with finishers handling higher numbers negotiating 4p/kg to 6p/kg higher, with as much as 10p/kg higher reported where sellers are using high numbers to generate competition between plants. While still significant, this has seen the gap close with British prices with R4L steers and heifers averaging £3.65/kg (€4.31/kg).
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Northern Ireland quotes continue to move upwards
There has been more bite in the beef trade in the last week, with agents keen to retain a high level of throughput while processing supplies for the Christmas trade. Unfortunately, this hasn’t as yet translated into higher prices across the board.
Base quotes for steers continue to range in general from €3.60/kg to €3.65/kg. More sellers are securing the higher base, with sellers operating at the top end of the market starting to secure 3c/kg to 5c/kg extra.
A similar trend is evident in heifers with base quotes ranging in general from €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg. There are some sellers with large lots of choice heifers holding out for a base of €3.80/kg but factories are slow to loosen the purse strings with some deals done at €3.78/kg to secure sales.
Last week’s kill fell as expected with a four-day week but not massively with many plants utilising their extra capacity to handle higher numbers. Throughput reduced from 34,293 to 30,937 with steers falling by about 1,500 head and cows by over 1,000 head.
The fall in throughput in cows is likely to be the class of animal most affected by a day’s less processing, with some of the independent plants currently handling a higher percentage of cows. Prices are steady but remain variable. P+3 grading cows are selling from €2.80/kg to €2.95/kg in the main with fleshed O grades rising to €3.10/kg. R grading cows are selling from €3.10/kg to €3.25/kg with U grades to €3.30/kg and 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher in cow-specialist plants.
A significant percentage of the cow kill is currently Friesian cows coming straight from the parlour. Prices for light carcase P1 grading cows are starting as low as €2/kg, rising to €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg, with P2s rising to €2.50/kg to €2.60/kg.
Bull throughput has maintained its pro-rata recent increased share of the kill, with some finishers emptying sheds to house more cattle and more autumn-born under-16-month bulls coming on stream. Bulls less than 16 months are trading on a base of €3.65/kg, while bulls over 16 months are selling in the main from €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg for R grades and €3.80/kg to €3.85/kg for U grades. Small numbers of Friesian bulls are trading from €3.55/kg to €3.65/kg, with quality and flesh cover having a big influence on price.
Live trade improves
There is more life in the mart trade over the last week, with prices rising €20 to €30 per head. A trend that is emerging, however, is that confidence in winter finishing remains low, with higher demand for 2015-born continental cattle ranging from 440kg to 500kg and suitable for being finished off grass next summer. These are attracting more competition than similar age and quality cattle requiring a short finishing period.
NI trade booming
The Northern trade maintains its upward momentum. U3- base quotes have lifted 4p/kg to 6p/kg, ranging from £3.38/kg to £3.44/kg (equivalent €3.99/kg to €4.06/kg incl VAT).
Sellers continue to have scope to secure more from the market, with finishers handling higher numbers negotiating 4p/kg to 6p/kg higher, with as much as 10p/kg higher reported where sellers are using high numbers to generate competition between plants. While still significant, this has seen the gap close with British prices with R4L steers and heifers averaging £3.65/kg (€4.31/kg).
Read more
Northern Ireland quotes continue to move upwards
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