There is no end in sight for cuts to beef quotes, with another 10c/kg drop across the board this week.

This week’s quotes for bullocks are €6.70/kg base price, with very little movement off that figure and a more or less take-it-or-leave-it attitude taken by a lot of agents.

Foyle Meats in Donegal is working off a higher base of €6.80/kg for bullocks, but is booked out for this week.

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Heifers are working off a base price of €6.80/kg, with Foyle Meats in Donegal 5c/kg ahead this week with a base price of €6.85/kg.

There is some talk that another 10c/kg will be shaved off quotes again next week, but this hasn’t been confirmed by agents yet.

Breed bonuses also remain under pressure in some factories, with Foyle Meats opting not to pay any Aberdeen Angus bonus for the last two weeks. It is hoping to bring in a revised Aberdeen Angus bonus scheme from next week on, but it’s expected to be lower than the 30c/kg it had been paying for in-spec cattle killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

It was also paying a 20c/kg bonus for cattle with carcase weights between 240kg and 300kg, which is also expected to be cut from next week on.

Most factories are now quoting 20c/kg bonus rates for Aberdeen Angus cattle, provided certain conditions are met.

Factories maintain that they are having difficulties selling beef, but when you look around some of our main markets, Ireland is lagging seriously behind some of our main export markets.

Irish beef is currently sitting at the bottom of the list. Italian young bulls are selling for €8.16/kg, while the latest price in Sweden is being quoted on the Bord Bia website at €8.54/kg.

The British price is currently coming in at €7.67/kg, while the Polish price is at €7.65/kg. The Irish price is currently joint bottom with the Netherlands at €7.37/kg when compared with our main markets.

Taking a look at the Bord Bia market tracker, the prime Irish composite price is now sitting 24c/kg behind the export price with the gap widening on a weekly basis.

Cows

R grading cows are being priced at €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg. U grading cows are now being bought at €6.70/kg, back 10c/kg in the last seven days.

O grading cows are being bought for €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €6.00/kg to €6.20/kg, with some factories quoting lower for very light cows.

The mart trade continues to be very steady, especially for well-fleshed heavy cows. The reduced quotes have filtered through to the mart trade, with heavier cattle and heavy cows back in price in marts over the last number of days.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.00/kg and U grading bulls remaining at €7.10/kg, although bulls are in short supply, with low numbers being killed.

O grading bulls are working off an all-in price of €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg, while P grading bulls are being quoted at €6.70/kg to €6.80/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover. Under-16-month bulls are working off a €6.80/kg base price on the grid.

Last week’s kill came in almost 1,000 head lower than the previous week, with just under 32,000 head slaughtered. There were drops recorded in all stock categories, with the exception of young bulls, which saw just over 100 extra killed last week.

Last week’s kill was 5,500 head lower than the same week in 2025. So far in 2026, there have been 62,589 fewer cattle killed compared with the same period in 2025. The reduction in numbers equates into just under 20,000t less of beef processed by factories so far in 2026.

The British market continues to come under some pressure, with beef quotes back 1p to 3p/kg again last week. Bullocks are being quoted at 636p/kg (€7.66/kg including VAT).