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Beef finishers continue to face significant challenges in negotiating prices upwards. There are differences in prices quoted between plants, with the average run of base prices reported at €3.65/kg for steers and heifers.
A small selection of plants are trying to purchase off a base of €3.60/kg, but numbers moving at this level are said to be minor, with finishers in many cases looking further afield for better deals. At the other end of the market, there are some finishers with greater negotiating power securing a base of €3.68/kg to €3.70/kg for heifers, while the highest prices continue to be reported in the northwest.
Demand remains strong across all plants, with a quick turnaround from booking to slaughter and factories keen to handle higher numbers. The strong appetite is reflected in a sharp mart trade, with agents locking horns on any slaughter-fit stock. Special sales in marts are a good alternative outlet for slaughter-fit stock, with cattle deemed out of spec in particular trading above deadweight prices.
The tightness in supply is also reflected in recent kill figures. Throughput was recorded at 35,641 head, an increase of 981 on the previous week but 2,408 head behind the corresponding week in 2018. The kill included of 11,944 steers, 11,542 heifers, 6,605 cows and 5,068 young bulls. Total throughput for the first three weeks of the year is running 4,896 head behind 2018 levels.
Cow prices continue to gradually rise, with a differential in cases of at least 10c/kg to 15c/kg and even greater between prices paid to sellers handling small numbers and finishers or agents handling big numbers.
P+3 grading cows range on average from €2.70/kg to €2.85/kg, with O grading cows rising to €2.85/kg to €3.00/kg. Quotes for R grading cows range from €3.05/kg to €3.20/kg.
Fleshed Friesian cows are selling live from €1.15/kg to €1.35/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover, with agents said to be using these supplies to prop up throughput. Factory prices for O grading cows range anywhere from €2.85/kg to €3.00/kg. There is also a sharp trade for heavy beef cows, with northern buyers continuing to drive the trade.
Prices here for R grading cows in factories range on average from €3.10/kg to €3.15/kg, with higher paid in plants most active in the cow trade.
The bull trade is unchanged, with R grades trading in general from €3.50/kg to €3.55/kg, while U grades are moving from €3.60/kg to €3.65/kg. Bulls trading on the grid are being quoted a base ranging from €3.50/kg to €3.60/kg, with significant variation present depending on the plant purchasing and the producer-processor relationship. Meanwhile, O grading bulls range in price from €3.25/kg to €3.40/kg, with coloured and O+ grading Friesian bulls at the higher end of the price scale.
New IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “Cattle finishers need to dig in hard. Don’t part with cattle at the lower quoted prices on offer and insist on more. The UK cattle price of £3.39/kg is the equivalent of €4.23 /kg incl VAT at 84.5p to the euro. At this price level in our main export market, there is major scope for Irish factories to increase prices.”
Northern trade
The trade in the North remains solid, with supplies coming on stream in a steady manner.
Base U-3 steer and heifer quotes range from £3.32/kg to £3.36/kg, equivalent of €3.92/kg to €3.97/kg at Wednesday’s exchange rate of 84.6p to the euro and €4.14/kg to €4.19/kg including VAT at 5.4%. Returns to regular sellers continue to top £3.40/kg (€4.24/kg).
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