Factories continue to try to undermine the beef trade, with the latest move to pull prices flying in the face of what finishers are dealing with on farms in terms of increased feed and energy costs.

Procurement managers are doing their best to talk down the trade, with some indicating further price cuts on the way for next week.

Looking to the UK and EU markets, the current price pressure is completely unwarranted and an opportunistic move by factories, as farmers look to finish more animals off grass ahead of one of the most expensive winter feeding periods on record.

Most bullocks are being bought this week at €4.60/kg to €4.65/kg, with the latter appearing less common for next week’s kill.

Heifers are working off a variety of prices, but, in the main, are trading at €4.65/kg to €4.70/kg in most factories.

Angus and Hereford cattle are still in high demand, with up to 30c/kg bonuses being paid for in-spec Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers this week.

Bull prices

Bulls are being quoted at €4.65/kg to €4.70/kg for R and U grading bulls, with a few regular, bigger suppliers still squeezing €4.75/kg to €4.80/kg for U grading bulls.

Flesh cover is very important, as factories are cutting hard for under-fleshed bulls.

Friesian bulls are being quoted at €4.50/kg to €4.60/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Under-16-month bulls are generally working off a base of €4.65/kg to €4.70/kg.

Cow trade

The cow trade has seen very little movement this week, with R grading cows being quoted at €4.50/kg to €4.60/kg, depending on age and weight.

Up to €4.70/kg is being paid for U grading cows in some factories this week, putting them ahead of O and P grading bullocks in some cases.

The manufacturing trade continues to perform strongly and industry sources are suggesting that shoppers will continue to trade down to stew and mince cuts.

O grading cows are back at €4.40/kg to €4.50/kg, with P grading cows being quoted at €4.20/kg to €4.30/kg.

Cattle kill

Last week’s cattle kill came in at 39,578 – an increase of 1,170 on the previous week.

Weather would have added a little pressure in the west this week and reports from the south are that a lot of cattle that were housed during the drought conditions in August are now coming fit for sale.

Heifers saw the biggest jump, with numbers up over 1,000 head on the previous week and one of the highest kills of heifers so far in 2022.

Across the water, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is reporting positive movement in the trade, with R4L bullocks coming in at 439p/kg (€5.26/kg incl VAT).

It’s a similar story in the heifer trade, with R4L heifers being paid out at 450p/kg (€5.40/kg incl VAT) for the week ending 8 October.

Further afield, the beef trade across Europe is steady and while the trade has tracked backwards in recent weeks, the Irish trade has fallen a lot quicker.

The Bord Bia beef market tracking tool shows that the prime Irish beef composite price is 33c/kg behind the prime EU export benchmark price. That equates to €125/head on a 380kg carcase.

NI comment

The beef trade in Northern Ireland continues on a steady footing, with no movement to prices on prime cattle.

This keeps quotes on U-3 animals at 426p/kg (€5.10/kg inc VAT), but deals are generally on 438p/kg (€5.25/kg) for steers, with heifers moving at 442p/kg (€5.29/kg) for regular finishers.

Quotes for R3 cows remain on 365p/kg €4.37/kg), but deals are running well ahead of this level at 380p/kg (€4.55/kg).