Irish beef prices are 12% ahead of Europe's average

Irish beef price is running at 12% ahead of the European average at present, Bord Bia’s senior manager for meat and livestock Joe Burke has said.

“Last week on average, Irish farmers got an average of €7.56/kg, excluding VAT, for R-grade bullocks.

“Interestingly that price was nearly 2% ahead of the UK average price paid for the same cattle and if we compare to the EU average price, we’re actually 10% ahead of that currently,” he said.

Tightness of supply both here in Ireland, where the kill is back 6,000 head a week on the same time last year, and similar conditions in the main outlets for Irish beef such as the UK and Europe were contributing factors to this price.

Burke was speaking at Kepak’s farm walk in Cork on Wednesday night last. Around 400 farmers attended the event hosted by Brian and Noelle O’Keeffe near Glanworth.

Stands focusing on meat cuts and a live demonstration on assessing and selecting cattle ahead of slaughter run by the procurement team proved popular with attendees.

This was the first large-scale event Kepak has held in Cork and, commenting on the evening, head of agribusiness with Kepak Mick O’Dowd said there are plans to build on it in the future.

“There’ll always be competition in agriculture but when people come to these events like this, if they can pick up something that moves the dial forward for the whole industry then it’s good for the farmer, it’s good for the processor and it’s good for the customers ultimately,” O’Dowd said.

Other topics covered on the night included genetics, animal health and vaccination procedures and a briefing on sustainability measures undertaken both on farm and at Kepak’s Cork plant in Watergrasshill.