Just as the beef kill appeared to be possibly reducing, last week’s throughput increased to the tune of 159 head and was recorded at 34,806 head.
The young bull kill reduced by 399 head to 4,001 while there were 544 fewer cows at 7,687 and 396 fewer heifers at 9,142 head.
These reductions were more than cancelled out, though, by the steer kill jumping 1,379 head to 13,147 and 144 more bulls (806 in total) in the 24-month plus category.
The lack of any letup in throughput is adding pressure to sluggish appetite, with prices falling another 5c/kg this week.
Steers are trading from a base of €3.50/kg to €3.55/kg, while the 10c/kg gap that had existed between steers and heifers has now closed to 5c/kg in some factories. This leaves heifers trading on a base of €3.55/kg to €3.60/kg, with some deals completed at the end of last week 5c/kg higher. This is harder to secure, however, as the week progresses.
The young bull trade remains particularly challenging, with interest in under-16-month bulls at a very low ebb in some factories.
10c/kg differerntial
This is leaving a 10c/kg differential opening up in base quotes which range on average from €3.40/kg to €3.50/kg. Bulls aged over 16 months but under 24 months are trading from €3.40/kg to €3.45/kg for R grades with U grades from €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg. O grading bulls are trading from €3.20/kg to €3.35/kg, with the higher price for better quality O+ bulls.
There is still a significant number of bulls deemed out-of-spec on the market, with Friesian bulls over €24 months priced back to €3.00/kg and lower where offered in significant numbers. Weight also is attracting more attention, with plants penalising once bulls exceed a carcase weight ranging from 420kg to 450kg.
Again the number of bulls deemed out-of-spec and the producer-processor relations is having an influence on the penalty applied, with cuts of 10c/kg to 20c/kg common.
The appetite for cows is pretty firm, with factories reluctant to let the cow kill slip back.
This is also reflected in the mart trade, which is bucking the trend of a sharp fall in prices. P+3 grading cows are being quoted a price of €2.70/kg in many plants but up to €2.80/kg is being paid at the higher end of the market.
Likewise, O grading cows range from €2.80/kg for Friesians to €2.90/kg for better-quality beef-sired cows while R grades range from €2.90/kg to €3.10/kg.
Northern trade
The trade in the North has steadied this week.
Base U-3 quotes for steers and heifers range on average from £3.22/kg to £3.26/kg or the equivalent of €3.59/kg to €3.64/kg at 89.9p to the euro and €3.78/kg to €3.83/kg including VAT at 5.4%. There is a 2p/kg to 4p/kg swing outside this range, with top returns rising to £3.30/kg (€3.88/kg). O grading cows range in general from £2.50/kg to £2.60/kg (€2.93/kg to €3.05/kg).
Collapse in hides
Cattle hides have fallen to around €17 or €18 for prime cattle and below €5 for cows. This compares with close to €70 for prime cattle hides and almost €60 for cows at the top of the market two years ago.
Hides are the raw material for the leather industry and therefore exposed to fashion trends in clothing, footwear, cars and furniture, with synthetic materials currently in favour.
Global beef update: EU beef imports at 135,679t to end of May