The beef trade is coming under renewed pressure. Factories already have plenty of cattle on hand for the early part of next week and are now starting to quote lower prices for deals later in the week.

Many plants are quoting a base of €3.95/kg for heifers moving next week, a drop of 5c/kg on prices paid this week.

Reports suggest factories are also trying to pull the steer base back 5c/kg to a price of €3.85/kg.

Bull finishers angered

Bull finishers are especially angered at how the trade for bulls finished in an under-16-month system has collapsed.

Some plants are now quoting a base of just €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg, with significant delays also materialising in getting bulls booked in for slaughter.

Some finishers with significant numbers of bulls ready for slaughter have been forced to move just a handful of bulls that are on the verge of going overage.

Specialist finishers are, in cases, securing an extra 5c/kg to 10c/kg premium, but securing the higher prices is becoming increasingly challenging.

Tighter specifications

There are also much tighter specifications being imposed, with far less leeway given on carcase weights.

Some plants that were allowing some allowances up to 420kg are now sticking rigidly to 400kg carcase weight and, likewise, those that were allowing a percentage over 420kg are imposing stricter upper weight limits.

The latest quotes have seen 20c/kg wiped off bulls in just two weeks. This translates to €75 per head on a 380kg carcase.

This comes on top of prices running 20c/kg to 30c/kg behind 2018 levels and higher finishing costs.

It leaves specialist beef finishers and suckler-to-beef farmers further questioning the viability of their enterprises, with June historically a month of firm demand for under-16-month bulls.

Bulls aged over 16 months and under-24 months are, by and large, being quoted a base of €3.70/kg for R grades and €3.80/kg for U grades, with some prices at the higher end of the market running 5c/kg higher.