Top-quality bull weanlings weighing 300kg to 400kg sold for €3.72/kg in marts this week, up a massive €160/head on the same week in 2023, Irish Farmers Journal analysis of MartBids data shows. Heavier bull weanlings in the 400kg to 450kg weight bracket sold for €3.58/kg, up over €100/head on the previous week’s trading.
Top-quality bull weanlings weighing 300kg to 400kg sold for €3.72/kg in marts this week, up a massive €160/head on the same week in 2023, Irish Farmers Journal analysis of MartBids data shows.
Heavier bull weanlings in the 400kg to 450kg weight bracket sold for €3.58/kg, up over €100/head on the previous week’s trading.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Ennis Mart manager Martin McNamara said: “Exporters are lighting up the trade over the last few weeks with big orders coming in for the next few months. We had a big sale of weanlings in the yard on Tuesday, with over 60% of them being sold for export.”
Elphin Mart held its opening autumn sale of weanlings on Monday, with almost 70% of the 230 on offer selling for export.
Mart manager Ciarán Lynch said he had never seen anything like it.
“We saw heavy bull weanlings cross €1,700 on several occasions on Monday, with the top-priced weanling selling for €2,270.”
Weanling exports are currently running 20% ahead of 2023 levels and 62% ahead of 2022 numbers.
Such is the demand that some exporters have even started to buy store bullocks to fill out shipments.
North African and Middle Eastern demand is driving the trade, with almost 10,000 cattle exported to Morocco so far in 2024, up from zero in 2023.
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