The beef trade is heading into the last week of July in a solid position. Prices remain unchanged in the last week, with supply and demand remaining finely balanced.

The majority of cattle continue to trade from a base of €4.05/kg for steers and €4.15/kg for heifers.

The keenest demand is for heifers, with numbers in the region of 8,000 head per week, some way off the average of over 12,000 for steers.

As such, some sellers with choice lots, large numbers on hand and a bit of extra bargaining power are securing a base of €4.18/kg to €4.20/kg.

Some producers report achieving this with greater ease than a higher base price for steers.

Cow trade

The recent strengthening in the cow trade is holding firm, with some average prices up 3c/kg to 5c/kg in the last week to 10 days.

P+3 grading cows are trading from €3.25/kg to €3.35/kg, with O grades to €3.40/kg in general, but as high as €3.50/kg has been paid for large numbers moving into plants most active in the trade.

R grades remain at a range of €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg, with top prices again 5c/kg higher, while U grades range from €3.55/kg all the way to €3.70/kg for small numbers of heavy fleshed cows.

Bulls

Bulls are trading in the main at a price of €4.05/kg for R grades and €4.15/kg for U grades, but 3c/kg to 5c/kg higher is being secured by specialist finishers, excluding premium payments.

Bulls less than 16 months are selling on a base of €4.05/kg mainly, but 5c/kg higher has been paid.

NI and British trade

The Northern Ireland trade is also unchanged, with the U-3 base price ranging from £3.60/kg to £3.64/kg.

With Monday evening’s exchange rate reverting back up over 89p to the euro, this equates to €4.26/kg to €4.31/kg, including VAT at 5.4%.

Regular sellers continue to secure 2p/kg to 4p/kg higher.

Meanwhile, British prices continue their gradual upward momentum where prices have creeped up 1p to 2p/kg in recent weeks.

R4L steer and heifer average prices have now exceeded £3.80/kg, the equivalent of €4.50/kg. This leaves prices running very significantly ahead of the same period last year with a gap of about 35p/kg to 40p/kg.

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