The Dublin tractor protest may have ended, but farmer anger over beef prices continues to mount.

The Irish Farmers Journal can reveal that prices in Brazil have risen to the point where they are matching the Irish price for equivalent-type animals, jumping 76c/kg in the last three weeks.

As a result, pressure is now mounting on Irish factories to increase Irish beef prices where the base price has not moved for nine weeks

Prices in Northern Ireland have also increased during November to just over £3.31/kg (€3.87/kg) by the end of last week for the R3 grade, 43c/kg more than the price south of the border.

As a result, pressure is now mounting on Irish factories to increase Irish beef prices where the base price has not moved for nine weeks. The average EU price of €3.60/kg for R3 young bulls is now 16c/kg clear of the Irish price.

Global beef price rises are being driven by demand from the US and China.

There is a growing urgency for the Beef Market Taskforce to reconvene. The injunctions held by C&D Foods, owned by ABP, are the logjam.

IFA president Joe Healy called on Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to “not allow the Goodman group to hold the beef sector to ransom”.