Beef Trends: Irish-UK price differential moves to over €1/kg

Factory agents remain hungry for cattle, with quotes on a similar level to last week in most factories this week.

Bullocks are working off a base of €5.00/kg to €5.05/kg, while heifers are working off a base price of €5.10/kg to €5.15/kg.

Foyle Meats in Donegal remains out in front, with official quotes at €5.10 and €5.15/kg for heifers and bullocks killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

There are numerous others paying the same money when pressure is applied to deals and farmers with good numbers to sell continue to be in a strong position when it comes to securing extra money.

Breed bonuses of up to 30c/kg are being paid out for Aberdeen Angus in-spec cattle, while Hereford cattle are attracting bonuses of as high as 25c/kg through the Hereford Prime group.

The increased Hereford bonus is available to Hereford heifers and bullocks booked through Hereford Prime and slaughtered from 14 October to 15 November.

Cattle must be booked through the group by 30 September to avail of the higher bonus and it is available to existing Hereford Prime members only. The increased bonus will be available at all Kepak and ABP sites around the country.

Cows

O+ suckler cows are generally working off €4.50/kg to €4.65/kg, while O grading dairy cows are being bought at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg, depending where you are.

R grading cows are being quoted at €4.75/kg to €4.80/kg and higher money is available where numbers are involved.

P+3 cows are working off €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg, depending on weight, age and flesh cover.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are still working off a €5.35/kg to €5.40/kg base price for U grading bulls.

R grading bulls are coming in at €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg, while O grading bulls are being bought at €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg.

P grading bulls are working off €5.00/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Under-16-month bulls are generally working off a €5.00/kg to €5.05/kg base price.

Last week’s kill came in at 38,360, a similar level to the previous week.

While the kill number remains high, the reduction in carcase weights that a lot of factories are experiencing means that actual beef supply isn’t changing much, despite the higher kill.

The bullock kill saw the biggest drop last week, back by over 500 head on the previous week.

UK trade

Across the water, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is forecasting a tightness in the UK finished cattle supply chain for later in 2024 and into 2025.

As at 1 July 2024, the number of cattle on holdings in the UK stood at 7.79 million head, down 1.8% year on year.

The number of cattle for beef production aged under 18 months was down year on year, driven by a reduction in the breeding herd.

Lower numbers of cattle for beef production points to tightness in cattle supplies in Q4 of 2024 and lower slaughter numbers into 2025.

UK prices continue to move in a positive direction, with the AHDB recording further increases for the week ending 14 September.

Bullocks saw an increase of 1.8p to 504p/kg ( €6.34/kg excl VAT), leaving the price differential of an R grading bullock at over €1/kg. Cattle continue to be in short supply in the UK, with the kill expected to tighten further in the coming weeks.

NI comment

The beef trade has kicked on in NI, with prime cattle closing in on 500p/kg (€6.27/kg inc VAT) and regular finishers trading above this for heifers.

Cows are making 380p to 410p/kg (€4.76 to €5.14/kg) for good-quality suckler types.