Factories have moved to quell further upward movement in beef prices. Their appetite for stock remains strong, but buyers are reluctant to rise prices.

This leaves steers trading on a mixed base of €3.65/kg to €3.70/kg and heifers trading on a base of €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg.

One large-scale finisher looking to negotiate a higher price this week was told the weakening in sterling from under 84p to almost 87p to the euro had unsettled the trade.

His reply was that there was no big play made on increasing prices on the back of sterling strengthening in previous weeks.

Throughput is steady, with last week’s throughput recorded at 39,466 head. The calf kill at 3,025 head remains high and when excluded shows no significant change in cattle numbers.

Agents purchasing slaughter-fit and short-keep cattle on behalf of factories remain active in marts, with demand for cows also holding strong.

Prices paid for cows range from €3.00/kg to €3.10/kg on average for P+3 grades, while O grades range from €3.10/kg to €3.20/kg.

R grading cows average in the region of €3.35/kg, but there is a 5c/kg to 10c/kg swing either side of this price, depending on the quality of cows on offer, the plant purchasing and the negotiating power of the seller. Likewise, U grading cows range anywhere from a starting point of €3.30/kg to €3.35/kg to in excess of €3.50/kg.

Throughput of young bulls has fallen sharply on volumes handled in 2019. Last week’s kill was recorded at 3,954 head, a reduction of 1,495 on the corresponding week in 2019, while year-to-date throughput of young bulls at 42,412 is 11,719 head lower.

Prices are unchanged, with U grading bulls selling from €3.65/kg to €3.75/kg. R grading prices are 10c/kg lower in general at a range of €3.55/kg to €3.65/kg, while there are some flat-priced deals reported at €3.70/kg for batches comprising of mainly U grading bulls.

O grading bulls are meeting a wider differential. The majority are trading within a price range of €3.35/kg to €3.45/kg for O=/O+ grading types. Top prices are rising to €3.50/kg, while some plants are offering a starting quote of €3.30/kg for plainer quality bulls.

EU comparison

A full analysis of European beef prices by Phelim O’Neill was published on www.farmersjournal.ie at the weekend.

It surmised that beef prices remain flat across Europe, with British and Northern Irish prices strongest for R3 steers, R3 heifers and O3 cows last week.

The Irish R3 steer price is €3.67/kg, 4c/kg better than the EU average R3 young bull price of €3.63/kg, though this is 20c/kg better than the Irish R3 young bull price of €3.43c/kg .

The farmgate price in Britain was the best in Europe at €4.09c/kg equivalent for R3 steers, while the Northern Irish price was also strong at €4.04c/kg equivalent (ex-VAT).

The tight differential between Irish and average EU prices is confirmed in the latest Bord Bia beef tracking report.

The Irish composite price, calculated on the percentage of steers, heifers, cows and young bulls exported to different markets, averages €3.45/kg.

This compares with the EU benchmark of €3.47/kg. The Irish composite is 5c/kg above the same week in 2019, with the EU benchmark 1c/kg higher.

Looking at year-to-date analysis shows these prices are marginally down on 2019 levels, with the Irish price of €3.39/kg 0.8% lower, while the EU benchmark at €2.42/kg is 0.7% lower. When cows are excluded the Irish composite of €3.60/kg falls behind the EU benchmark of €3.62/kg.

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