Fears of price pressure due to a predicted 100,000 head oversupply of cattle this year are easing.

Buoyant export demand for beef, lighter carcase weights and higher live exports are driving mart prices.

An extra 34,355 cattle have been slaughtered this year – yet mart prices for factory-fit cattle are running higher than last year. Irish Farmers Journal MartWatch figures show prices for the average 600kg heifer were up €50 over the last three months, compared with last year. Steers were up €23/head.

Globally, a combination of drought, Brazilian meat scandals and higher prices for pork are delivering €4.20/kg here as opposed to previous predictions of €3.50/kg.

Meanwhile, indications are that beef supply could be lower than expected for the remainder of the year. Farmers are slaughtering cattle at lighter weights in 2017. The average steer carcase is 9.6kg lighter and average heifer carcase 4.9kg lighter.

If this continues it would equate to 35,000 fewer cattle for the year.

Live exports of bulls and heifers to non-EU markets last summer will begin to have an effect from this autumn onwards. Almost 20,000 head were exported last year and more than 9,500 so far this year.

An extra 100,000 beef cattle had been predicted for 2017.

But the above two trends, on top of the higher slaughterings in the first six months, has led the IFA to predict that there will in fact be only 5,000 extra cattle for slaughter in the remainder of 2017.

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