The prolonged period of cattle price falls from June until well into the autumn left Irish prices lagging behind those in our main continental markets as well as the UK.

However, up to that point, Irish prices had been performing relatively well compared with others in the eurozone and the gap with UK prices had closed to 17c/kg at one point mid-year.

When it comes to handling cows that have come to the end of their productive life as either dairy cows or sucklers, Irish factories are among the top performers in Europe, with only the Swedes significantly ahead. Northern Ireland (NI) factories are close behind and, unlike prime beef, they are consistently ahead of British prices on cows.

Steers

Looking at each category in more detail, average R3 steer price in Irish factories compared favourably with eurozone counterparts for R3 young bulls, driven by performance in the first half of the year.

Using data for the first 11 months, Irish prices averaged €3.78/kg in 2016, compared with €4.00/kg for the same period in 2015.

In the same period, British prices were €4.16/kg compared with €4.83/kg equivalent for 2015 and NI prices are averaging the equivalent of €4.00/kg this year so far compared with €4.66/kg for the same period in 2015.

This fall in euro terms of 14% and 15% respectively is driven substantially by the weakening of sterling this year compared with 2015, when it was particularly strong against the euro.

Notable outliers when comparing Irish prices with other countries include Sweden, the US and Australia.

The flying Swedes

Sweden has developed into one of the top five Irish beef export destinations in recent years and remains outside the eurozone, so its relative price is also subject to currency influence.

Its price actually increased in euro terms from a €4.25/kg average in 2015 to €4.72/kg this year for the first 11 months.

The other country that has shown a significant increase year on year is Australia, where drought has led to a cattle scarcity, bringing the kill down to its lowest level in 25 years.

For much of the autumn, Australian prices were actually ahead of Ireland, which is an incredible turnaround for a country where prices were among the lowest in the world as recently as three years ago.

The US also hit record highs, peaking at €5.40/kg in May 2015. However, there have been dramatic falls there since, and the price is currently averaging €3.57/kg. Smoothing these extremes into annual averages, the 2015 price averaged €4.76/kg equivalent for the first 11 months of the year while the 2016 average is €3.82/kg, a fall of 20%.

Young bulls

Young bulls rather than steer beef predominate on the continent, so it is these that Irish R3 steers are compared against.

Despite Ireland dropping behind its main continental competitors in recent weeks, when examining average prices for the first 11 months of 2016 and the same period in 2015, Ireland is ahead of many countries that we do business with.

French prices have fallen to an average of €3.60/kg this year compared with €3.72/kg last year, while Germany has dropped from €3.84/kg to €3.68/kg on average.

Italy and Spain on the other hand have shown small increases, with the Italian average rising from €3.81/kg last year to €3.85/kg this year and Spain has increased from €3.63/kg in 2015 to €3.68/kg in 2016.

Listen to “Livestock specialists review 2016” on Spreaker.

Heifers

Looking at heifer averages, Irish average prices on the R3 grade in 2016 to date are below all of the main counties we export beef to, with the exception of Germany and the Netherlands.

Irish prices were €3.71/kg on average for the first 11 months in 2016, with the Netherlands on €2.72/kg and Germany €3.58/kg.

Each of these are lower than last year, when Irish prices were €3.95/kg, Germany was at €3.71/kg and the Netherlands – by far western Europe’s weakest prime beef market – was on €3.02/kg.

As with steer prices, the dominant countries were Britain, Sweden and NI, all of which are outside the eurozone.

British prices dropped back from an average of €4.84/kg last year to €4.17 for the same period this year while in NI, heifer prices fell from €4.65/kg to €4.00/kg.

The strength of sterling in 2015 and its weakness this year against the euro have a significant impact on these prices.

In Sweden it is an opposite trend, with prices increasing from an average €4.27/kg in 2015 to €4.79/kg this year.

Within the eurozone, French prices have fallen from €4.06/kg on average last year to €3.85/kg this year while Germany has dropped from €3.71/kg in 2015 to €3.58/kg this year.

Italy has remained fairly stable, dropping just 2c/kg on average from €4.02/kg in 2015 to €4/kg this year.

Cows

Irish factories, along with their counterparts in NI and France, are the undisputed cow kings in the eurozone.

However, this category, like steers and heifers, has suffered a price drop in 2016, with Irish prices falling from an average of €3.40/kg in 2015 to €3/kg. France is the top-paying cow country, averaging €3.03/kg this year compared with €3.26/kg last year, which meant it was well behind Ireland.

Like the other categories, the weakening value of sterling in 2016 is reflected in NI and British prices. Last year cows averaged €3.36/kg in both areas, whereas this year they have fallen to the equivalent of €2.94/kg in NI and further in Britain to €2.84/kg.

Sweden, another non-euro country, has reversed the trend elsewhere in the EU over the past year, showing a significant increase from the equivalent of €3.72/kg to €4.22/kg.

Outside the EU, Australia shows a strengthened cow trade, with the scarcity factor driving prices upward.

Elsewhere in the eurozone, it was a case of weakening cow prices in 2016 compared with values a year earlier, though not by as much.

Germany had the next largest fall after Ireland, with prices dropping from an average of €3/kg in 2015 to €2.70/kg this year.

The Netherlands fell from €2.81/kg last year to €2.55/kg while Spain and Italy had the lowest falls, dropping 9c/kg and 11c/kg respectively although from lower bases.

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