Weanling prices have reached a new high this week, with Irish Farmers Journal MartBids data showing a €140/head rise in bull prices compared to last year.

Mart managers nationwide report a significant lift in demand among store producers, finishers and weanling exporters.

Several of Ireland’s leading exporters have secured contracts to supply weanlings to Libya, Algeria, Syria and Turkey in recent weeks, and this has injected serious energy into the trade.

Clare Marts general manager Martin McNamara told the Irish Farmers Journal: “We are seeing spring-born weanlings back in weight but up in price, with great demand in the last seven days from both exporters and farmers.”

The latest Irish Farmers Journal MartBids analysis shows that prices for top-quality weanling bulls between 300kg and 400kg are up by €140/head this month compared to September 2022.

Weanling prices across Europe are also up, with continental weanlings in France running €100 to €150/head higher than last year’s prices.

The latest figures from Bord Bia show that weanling exports from Ireland are up by almost 40% so far this year.

This would suggest that weanling exports could exceed 30,000 head in 2023, a doubling of the 2022 figure.