The beef trade is starting to heat up, with some factories increasing quotes again this week in a bid to secure supplies.

A combination of a tightness in supply of finished cattle and an insatiable demand from the UK has meant factories have had no choice but to increase quotes to get cattle to fill contracts.

Heifers are being quoted at €4.40/kg to €4.55/kg base price, but quoted price and paid price have become two very different things in recent weeks, with anywhere from 5c to 20c more being paid to certain individuals.

ADVERTISEMENT

Bullocks are working off €4.35/kg to €4.50/kg. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle remain the top choice of many, with bonuses of between 10c and 25c/kg being paid on top of base prices.

It’s understood that a number of large feeders got the nod last week to buy away at an agreed bonus rate above the base price for April, May and June this year.

A number of specialised cow operators are still very active to secure supplies, with €4.10/kg to €4.20/kg being paid for good R grading cows. U grading cows are trading at 10c/kg higher.

Some factories have quoted €4.00/kg for a mix of R and O grading suckler cows to secure a load.

O grading cows are coming in at €3.80/kg to €3.85/kg. Better suckler O grades are pushing into €3.90/kg if part of a load.

P+3 cows are being quoted at €3.75/kg to €3.80/kg.

Bulls

Bulls are in demand, with a number of factories now paying €4.50/kg to €4.60/kg for under-24-month U grading bulls, with €4.40/kg to €4.45/kg being quoted for R grading bulls.

Some factories are paying €4.30/kg to €4.35/kg for mixtures of O and P black and white bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg.

Low UK cattle kill

The UK cattle kill recorded its lowest ever kill for January. The cattle kill was 10% lower than January 2021 and marks the lowest kill on record of prime cattle.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Bord Bia’s equivalent in the UK, is predicting that supplies will remain tight for the next couple of months, with no significant recovery expected until the second half of 2022.

Last week’s kill of cattle excluding veal came in at 36,407, which was up about 400 head on the week before.

Looking at the kill so far in 2022, there have been 200,511 cattle killed compared with 187,388 killed for the same period in 2021, so the kill is up just over 13,000 for the first five weeks of 2022.

The longer this kill can stay strong, the better it will be for the end of the year when numbers could start to become plentiful again.

Bull renaissance

The bull kill continues to buck the trend in 2022. There were 4,135 bulls killed last week, up almost 1,000 on the corresponding week in 2021.

The bull kill is up 3,000 head so far in 2022 compared with 2021.

Factories missed young bulls last year during April, May and June and some factories are leaning back towards young bulls to prop up supplies during this slack time for bullocks and heifers.

If the current trend continues, we will likely see a much bigger bull kill in 2022, despite all the shouting from the factories.

Northern Ireland

Base quotes on prime cattle and cull cows have steadied following last week’s increases.

The top quote on U-3 grading prime stock remains on 398p/kg (€4.99/kg inc VAT).

However, deals on steers and heifers continue to hold around 408p to 410p/kg (€5.11/kg to €5.14/kg), with more regular finishers commanding 2p to 4p/kg extra, depending on numbers being offloaded.

Young bulls are moving in line with base quotes. Cull cows are a strong trade and although R3 quotes are unchanged at 310p/kg (€3.89/kg), price deals start from 320p/kg (€4.02/kg).