There’s a different mood to the beef trade this week, with a lot more positivity evident when it comes to pricing and buying cattle.

Quotes may not have moved a lot, but some finishers who were struggling to get cattle killed a month ago have no problem finding a suitor and, in some yards, there is a little competition coming back into the market, with rival agents starting to push the boat out when it comes to purchasing finished animals.

Speaking to agents on the ground, a lot of shed cattle have dried up, with agents calling on some of the larger finishers this week to shore up supplies.

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The poorer spring meant that some cattle that would have normally been turned out weren’t turned out and rather finished out of the shed.

With these cattle gone, it means that factories have returned to some of the larger feeders looking for cattle.

A number of agents have also been a lot more active in marts over the weekend and early this week buying finished cattle and forward store cattle for further finishing.

Bullocks are working off a €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg base price. Heifers are also moving at a similar level to last week, with the tops generally coming in around €6.30/kg base price.

Some suppliers have managed to squeeze a €6.40/kg base price for heifers out of processors, with other deals also being completed around haulage and bonuses.

Breed bonuses are also a little easier to come by this week. Questions were being raised a few weeks ago about the future of some breed bonuses, but that threat seems to have fallen away for now.

Breed bonuses of between 5c and 20c/kg are available for in-spec Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle.

Flat prices are also a little easier to come by, with as high as €6.70/kg paid last week for in-spec Aberdeen Angus heifers.

At the moment, it’s a case of pushing hard when it comes to quotes, with certain agents having leeway to up quotes when pressure is applied.

Cows

R grading cows are being priced around €6.00/kg, with more going to those with numbers. U grading cows are now being bought at €6.10/kg to €6.20/kg, with higher prices going to regular cow sellers and specialist feeders.

O grading cows are being bought for around €5.90/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €5.60/kg to €5.80/kg, with some factories continuing to quote lower for very light cows.

Bulls

R grading bulls are coming in at €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg, with U grading bulls being quoted at €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg, depending on the number and type involved.

O grading bulls are working off an all-in price of €6.10/kg to €6.30/kg, while P grading bulls are being quoted at €6.00/kg to €6.20/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Over-age bulls are generally working off a price of €6.00/kg to €6.20/kg, depending on grades and flesh cover. Under-16-month bulls are working off a €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg base price on the grid.

Last week’s kill remained under 30,000 head, at 29,950 excluding calves. Both bullocks and heifers dropped last week, with an extra 600 cows killed last week. There was also an extra 400 bulls killed last week.

Further afield, the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association has requested a ban be put in place on growth promoting antibiotics with sodium monensin on the proposed list.

It is lobbying for the changes to align Brazil with international regulations and strengthen the country’s negotiating power ahead of the upcoming proposed ban on Brazilian beef entering the EU from 3 September 2026.

The Brazilian ministry of agriculture has not commented on the request.

JBS, one of Brazil’s largest meat processors, has also weighed in on the issue, citing that the problem lies with the Brazilian government in terms of guarantees being issued on antibiotic-free meat.