Factories have been firmly focused on replenishing stock levels, with the majority of plants working well above normal processing capacity since the start of the week.

Last week’s kill fell to just 15,065 head, a drop of 14,073 head on the previous week and almost 20,000 short of the average kill in the previous weeks.

A small number of plants operated a small kill on Saturday, while all plants were at maximum capacity on Monday and keen to get supplies on hand to satisfy fresh meat contracts, ahead of the threat of a resumption of protests on Monday evening.

A high percentage of cattle was sourced from finishers with large numbers on hand. The reason was to achieve optimum levels of efficiency and ensuring lairages were full in advance of Tuesday’s kill.

The strong appetite for cattle has continued as the week progresses, though there has been no significant change in prime cattle prices.

Steers are selling in the main from a base of €3.50/kg to €3.55/kg, although there is a small number of plants trying to quote a base of €3.45/kg.

Heifers are moving on a base of €3.55/kg to €3.60/kg, with the higher quote confined mainly to choice lots or regular sellers.

Young bulls less than 16 months and paid on the grid are trading on a base ranging anywhere from €3.40/kg to €3.50/kg.

Carcase weight continues to have an influence on price, although some reports suggest there was more leniency in some plants allowing weights to increase to 415kg to 420kg.

Bulls aged over 16 months but under 24 months are selling on average from €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg for R grades, with U grades from €3.50/kg to €3.60/kg.

O grading bulls are selling from a starting point of €3.20/kg for plainer-quality O- grading bulls to €3.35/kg for heavier-carcase O=/+ grading bulls.

A tighter supply of cows has added more life to this trade, with a wider differential opening between plants most active in the cow trade and those with variable appetite.

P+3 grading cows are trading anywhere from €2.75/kg to €2.90/kg, with O grades from €2.85/kg to €3.00/kg.

R grading cows are selling on average from €3.00/kg to a top of €3.15/kg to €3.20/kg, while U grading cows, which remain small in number, are running 10c/kg to 15c/kg higher.

Firm northern trade

The trade in the North is solid, with base U-3 quotes for steers and heifers ranging from £3.22/kg to £3.28/kg.

Sterling dipped to a 10-year low of over 93p to the euro at the weekend, but at Wednesday morning’s exchange rate of 92.5p this equates to €3.48/kg to €3.55/kg and €3.67/kg to €3.74/kg including VAT at 5.4%.

Top returns paid to regular sellers continue to rise into the mid-£3.30s.

The number of cattle travelling from south to north for direct slaughter was recorded at 467 head a fortnight ago. With northern supplies said to have improved in the last week, this reduced to 370 head last week.

The latest AHDB price report shows steer prices reducing 0.9p/kg last week, with R4L steers averaging £3.37/kg (€3.84/kg incl VAT).

Heifers strengthened on average by 0.5p/kg, opening up a 1p/kg differential over average steer prices. Meanwhile, young bulls strengthened by 3.8p/kg on the back of tighter supplies, with R3 grades averaging £3.20/kg (€3.65/kg) while cows eased 1p/kg with O grades from £2.49/kg to £2.64/kg (€2.84/kg to €3.01/kg).