Factory processing activity is greatly curtailed this year with Christmas Day falling midweek. The majority of factories are slaughtering cattle and sheep on Monday 23 December and Friday 27 December. While many plants will be boning out beef and getting orders out on Tuesday, no slaughtering is taking place. The exception to this is Ashbourne Meats, which closes annually over the Christmas period.

Cattle and sheep for this week’s smaller kills have also been sourced with a high percentage supplied by the same producers each year. Many of these are larger-scale producers, which cuts down on the number of suppliers and streamlines processing.

Trade for lean manufacturing beef has been strong in recent weeks

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Factories will also be closed on New Year’s Day with the level of processing activity on the other four days influenced by how sales of beef and lamb are performing. Reports suggest the trade for lean manufacturing beef has been strong in recent weeks with little stock on hand at present. This should see demand resume strongly in the new year. The beef sector is hoping for improved sales of steak cuts over the Christmas period with sales described as continuing to be sluggish compared to recent years.