The beef trade remains in a steady position this week on the back of tight supplies and solid demand in the run-up to the Christmas holiday period.

Agents are reported to be anxious for finished cattle, with most processors leaving quotes unchanged from last week.

Bullocks are working off a base price of €7.40/kg, with heifers coming in at €7.50/kg.

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Breed bonuses of 30c/kg are still on the table for in-spec Aberdeen Angus heifers. Hereford bonuses are also being paid out at 20c/kg.

Cows

Cows have steadied a little, with some reports of fewer cows coming to the market in the next few weeks.

P+3 cows are coming in at €6.50/kg to €6.70/kg. Good O grades with flesh are still making €6.80/kg to 6.90/kg, with quality R grading cows coming in at €6.90/kg to €7.00/kg and a little above it in some locations.

Well-fleshed U grading cows are still coming in at €7.10/kg in some factories this week.

The mart is probably still the place to go if you have small numbers of cows.

The run-up to Christmas always sees demand drop a little for cows, as processors concentrate on prime beef.

Bulls

The trade in young bulls is also at a similar level to where it was this time last week.

The going rate being offered for R and U grades is in the region of €7.50/kg to €7.60/kg, while P and O grading bulls are coming in at €7.20/kg to €7.40/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €7.25/kg to €7.35/kg this week before any grading or in-spec bonuses are applied.