The beef trade has cranked up another notch this week, with quotes lifting by a further 5c to 10c/kg on last week’s quotes. Factories are desperate for supplies, with independent factories in particular falling short this week and willing to pay above the odds to get cattle to process.
The beef trade has cranked up another notch this week, with quotes lifting by a further 5c to 10c/kg on last week’s quotes.
Factories are desperate for supplies, with independent factories in particular falling short this week and willing to pay above the odds to get cattle to process.
Some of these factories have been offering 5c to 10c/kg above some of the quoted prices from larger processors to turn lorries into their lairages.
All sorts of deals are being done on haulage, which in some cases can be worth 5c to 7c/kg.
Some factory club bonuses are also being paid on cattle which may not have ticked all the boxes, such is the demand for cattle.
This has brought base quotes for bullocks up to the €5.30/kg to €5.40/kg range, with heifers working off a €5.40/kg to €5.50/kg base price this week.
Flat-based pricing is also back in vogue, with well-covered Friesian bullocks being bought at €5.55/kg in several factories this week.
Retail demand for Aberdeen Angus is also very high, with €6/kg and over being paid for in-spec heifers this week.
Cows
Well-fleshed cows are in big demand, with the manufacturing beef trade continuing on a very strong footing. Quotes are increasing by the day for cows, with huge appetite out there for well-fleshed heavy cows.
O+ suckler cows are generally working off €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg, while O grading dairy cows are being bought at €4.90/kg to €5.00/kg, depending on which factory you are dealing with.
R grading cows are being quoted at €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg and higher money is available where numbers are involved.
P+3 cows are working off €4.70/kg to €4.80/kg, depending on weight, age and flesh.
Well-fleshed U grading cows continue to command top prices of €5.40/kg to €5.50/kg and over for young fleshed heavy cows.
Bulls
Bulls are also in demand, with factories looking for anything to deliver kilogrammes of beef at the moment.
Under-24-month bulls are still working off a €5.60/kg to €5.70/kg base price for U grading bulls.
R grading bulls are coming in at €5.50/kg to €5.60/kg, while O grading bulls are being bought at €5.30/kg to €5.40/kg.
P grading bulls are working off €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover. Under-16-month bulls are generally working off €5.30/kg to €5.40/kg.
Last week’s kill came in at 39,711 head, a similar position to the previous week.
The cow kill has remained strong at 10,373 head. The bull kill dropped back by 300 head last week after a strong kill the previous week.
Even though numbers are remaining steady, carcase weights remain a huge challenge for processors, with more dairy-beef meaning lighter carcase weights and less beef being produced from the same number of animals.
Factories have already highlighted this as an issue, but it’s likely to get worse in 2025 before it gets better.
Across the water, prices continue to improve with the AHDB reporting R4L bullocks up 4.8p/kg to 525p/kg (€6.68/kg incl VAT), with R4L heifers moving up 6p/kg in the week to 521p/kg (€6.63/kg incl VAT)
The AHDB has also projected that there will be a 6.3% reduction in prime cattle slaughtering in Britain by 2030, assuming the current decline in dairy and suckler cow numbers continues. This will mean imports will play a greater role in their future beef requirements.
NI comment
Quotes are up 2p to 496p/kg (€6.26/kg inc VAT) for U3 animals, but steers and heifers are moving at 510p to 512p/kg (€6.43 to €6.46/kg) with higher prices for bigger finishers.
Beef prices are now at their highest on record. Cull cows are freely making 400p/kg (€5.05/kg) for suckler types.
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