Beef factories continue to try to spook the trade, with talk of lower quotes coming for the end of this week and next week.

Some are going to great lengths to stretch out supplies, with a few going back to three- or four-day weeks to keep the pressure on.

A number have indicated a move back to €5.20/kg for bullocks and €5.25/kg for heifers, but when push comes to shove, almost all have the ability to go to €5.30/kg for heifers and €5.25/kg for bullocks.

A few of the fringe benefits around flat pricing have been taken off the table this week in a bid to further pressurise farmers to sell.

Numbers of finished cattle are still very tight on farms, with factory agents still camped in marts trying to secure numbers for a next-day kill in many cases.

Donegal continues to be out in front with its quote of €5.30/kg for bullocks killing out between 300kg and 400kg and €5.35/kg for heifers killing out at 300kg to 400kg.

Young bulls

The top price in the young bull market is €5.50/kg for U grading bulls, with €5.30/kg to €5.40/kg on the table for well-fleshed R grading bulls.

P and O grading bulls are being bought at €5.10/kg to €5.20/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being bought at €5.25/kg to €5.30/kg base price on the grid.

Cows

P+3 cows are working off €4.55/kg to €4.65/kg, with O grading cows coming in at €4.70/kg to €4.80/kg.

R grading cows are generally being quoted at €4.90/kg to €5.00/kg, with U grading cows now moving at €5.10/kg to €5.20/kg.

The Irish Limousin Cattle Society has a scheme in place with Ashbourne Meats in Roscrea for pedigree Limousin cows, where the current U grade price is €5.15/kg, with a 10c/kg bonus paid on cows that present with a pedigree certificate on the day of slaughter.

There are lots of deals on the table to get good cows, with R grading cows being bought at U grading prices in some instances.

Last week’s kill came in at 35,466 head, back over 1,000 head on the corresponding week in 2022.

The number of calves being slaughtered continues to increase, with 3,308 slaughtered last week, an increase of over 1,700 on the previous week.

Analysing the kill so far in 2023, we see that there hasn’t been a lot of change in the first seven weeks of the 2023 kill, with kill numbers just down 890 head so far.

Cows dropped back a little last week, with bullock and heifer numbers seeing gains.

Taking a look at the Bord Bia beef market tracker, the Irish price has crept above the EU/UK composite price.

However, European and UK beef markets remain very solid, with good demand on the back of tight supplies meaning no changes in this week’s trading.

The latest price on U3 bulls in Italy is still at €5.96/kg, while the German market is returning €5.77/kg on an R4 bullock.

The French beef price also remains solid, with U3 bulls trading at €5.78/kg and R3 heifers coming in at €5.74/kg.

Across the water in Britain, the trade remains solid, with demand continuing to exceed supply.

R4L heifers have risen to £4.83/kg (€5.78/kg incl VAT) this week, with up to £4.88/kg ( €5.86/kg incl VAT) being paid for U3 young bulls in central England last week.

NI comment

North of the border, there is a much more positive outlook on the beef trade, with some factory agents conceding they are struggling to get cattle.

Quotes are up 4p/kg as a result to 464p/kg (€5.50/kg inc VAT) for U-3 animals, but 480p/kg (€5.68/kg) is much more realistic.

Most steers and heifers are moving around 2p/kg to 4p/kg above this level, with deals on transport being used by some plants as a sweetener. Cull cows are in the region of 410p/kg (€4.86/kg) for R grades.