The beef trade has gained momentum since the start of the week. Some plants are trying to hold the base quote for steers at €4.05/kg, but are having less success, with a high majority now trading at a base of €4.10/kg.

The base for heifers has increased to €4.20/kg and sellers with large numbers on hand and trading at the top end of the market are securing 2c/kg to 5c/kg higher.

The kill is tightening and last week reduced by 2,182 head to 29,326 head. The reductions were driven by about 1,110 fewer steers, 880 heifers and 400 less young bulls processed.

Reports suggest numbers trading this week are likely to record a further marginal decrease, with immediate-term supplies for the next few weeks likely to be significantly tighter.

IFA national livestock chair Angus Woods said: “Based on the week-on-week increase in the UK price over the last five weeks, which is now equivalent to €4.50/kg, the factories have further room to drive on Irish prices. Farmers who fed cattle indoors to this stage in the year need a significant price premium.”

The cow kill increased 133 head to 6,555 and reflects the sharp rise in purchasing activity.

Dealers and specialist finishers are competing hard in marts. There is a big differential opening up in prices paid, depending on negotiating power. P+3 grades have been reported as selling from €3.35/kg all the way to €3.50/kg when traded flat in mixed lots, with mainly O grading cows.

O grades are selling from €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg, with a top of €3.60/kg paid in cow-specialist plants. Likewise, R grades are selling from €3.55/kg to €3.70/kg, with top-quality U grades to €3.70/kg to €3.80/kg.

Bull quotes are relatively unchanged at €4.00/kg to €4.05/kg for R grades and €4.10/kg to €4.15/kg for U grades. Specialist finishers have managed to secure higher, while carcase weights are much less of an issue in negotiations, with allowances given to 450kg to 480kg in cases to finalise deals.

Rising trade

The northern trade has also stepped up a notch. Base U-3 steer and heifer quotes have increased to £3.52/kg to £3.56/kg (equivalent to €4.42/kg to €4.47/kg including VAT), which better reflects actual prices being paid.

Regular sellers continue to command greater negotiating power, with top prices ranging from the low- to mid-£3.60s.

Like the North, British beef prices are experiencing a change of fortunes to a year earlier.

At £3.62/kg to £3.65/kg (equivalent €4.54/kg to €4.58/kg) for R4L grading steers and heifers, prices have increased 3p/kg to 5p/kg in the last 10 days and are running 40p/kg (48c/kg) ahead of the same period in 2016.

Kill up, weights down

The Irish weekly kill is running 14,700 above 2016 levels for the year to date. CSO records show that while the kill is up, lighter carcase weights are reducing the additional tonnage of beef produced.

For the first quarter of 2017, the number of cattle processed increased by 10,707 head, while the tonnage of beef produced increased by just 2,600t.

The AHDB reports the average weight of steers reducing 10kg to 349kg, while heifers were 5kg lighter at 312kg carcase weight. This is likely to continue to be a feature of the trade, with a rising proportion of dairy-bred stock in the kill.

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