The recent rise in Irish factory prices for beef has pushed Ireland towards the top end of the EU price table, with cows still out ahead.

Also, prices to the middle of May 2018 are running ahead of 2017 in most EU countries, with the opposite being the case in major beef producing countries outside the EU. All prices are excluding VAT and are based on the R3 grade steers and heifers, with the O3 grade used for cows. Prices are supplied by Bord Bia.

Steers

Ireland and Britain are the only EU countries that produce a significant number of steers, with young bulls preferred on the continent. Outside of the EU, where farmers have access to growth promoting-hormones, the preference is for steers.

For the week ending 19 May, Irish steer prices were 408c/kg, 8c/kg better than the same week last year. This closes the gap with Britain to 20c/kg; the price reported there was the equivalent of 425c/kg.

Sweden remains the top-paying EU country that produces a significant volume of beef, with prices there the equivalent of 433c/kg for R3 young bulls.

Elsewhere, prices are below Irish levels for R3 young bulls. Spain is averaging 390c/kg, while Germany is 10c/kg further back on 380c/kg. France is paying just 371c/kg while the Netherlands, which has a very small number of R grading cattle because it is predominantly a dairy cow country, reported 352/kg.

Heifers

It is basically a similar trend for heifer prices, though Italy is an outlier. Irish heifers were averaging 419c/kg last week compared with the equivalent of 425c/kg in Britain, which means the gap is closed to 6c/kg. A year ago this gap was 18c/kg, with Irish prices at 411c/kg compared with the equivalent of 429c/kg available in Britain.

On the continent, Sweden leads the way on the equivalent of 443c/kg while Italy comes in on 441c/kg. Elsewhere prices are below the Irish average, with Spain averaging 398c/kg and France returning 390c/kg. Germany is further back on 377c/kg, while the Netherlands is at just 303c/kg, again with small numbers of R grading heifers.

Cows

The cow trade is where Irish factories really shine, with only Sweden paying more. They were on 401c/kg last week while Ireland was averaging 345c/kg for O3 grading cows. In France, where the cow trade was historically ahead of Ireland, they were averaging 322c/kg, 23c/kg behind Ireland, while prices were further back in the other EU countries.

Italian cows were making 309c/kg, while Germany returned 316c/kg. The Netherlands came in on 299c/kg while Spain was further back on 241c/kg.

Outside the EU

Prices are dramatically lower outside the EU in the major beef-producing countries than they were a year ago, partially caused by currency weakness against the euro. In the US, the equivalent of an R3 steer is making in the region of of 340c/kg compared with 423c/kg a year ago.

It is a similar trend in Australia, where the price this year is 303c/kg compared with 360c/kg a year ago. Brazil’s price has dipped below the 200c/kg line to 196c/kg, which is the equivalent of 54c/kg lower than a year ago when they were reporting 245c/kg.

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