The beef trade remains under pressure, with cows feeling the most pressure. This is stemming from cow throughput being driven by farmers looking to offload cows to reduce demand and this is leaving factories in a much stronger buying position.

Prices offered are very variable. Reports show some plants trying to purchase P+3 grading cows from €3.15/kg to €3.20/kg, with O fleshed grades ranging from €3.30/kg to €3.35/kg. These are prices at the lower end of the marke,t with regular sellers handling larger numbers and tied into longer term supply arrangements securing significantly higher. Sellers with poor-quality cows should also note that prices can be up to 50c/kg to 70c/kg, or more, lower than those quoted above for light-carcase cows with a poor cover of flesh.

Bulls less than 16 months and trading on the grid are selling in general on a base of €4.05/kg to €4.10/kg, but there are also a small number of plants quoting a base of €4.00/kg. Bulls aged over 16 months are trading in general from €4.00/kg to €4.05/kg for R grades and from €4.10/kg to €4.15/kg for U grades, although securing the higher prices is now largely confined to large-scale specialist producers.

Factories taking advantage

IFA president Joe Healy has criticised factories as taking advantage of farmers being in a vulnerable position. “Factories must stop cutting prices and undermining the beef market. The factories are taking advantage of the drought conditions and over the last four weeks have cut 20c/kg off the price, or up to €80 per head, which is the profit margin in most cases.” he said.

Healy added: “The beef market demand remains strong, especially around the manufacturing trade with the World Cup and the price cuts are not justified. Prices in our main export market in the UK remain strong and steady, with the R3 steer price at £3.79/kg, equivalent of €4.54/kg. Last week’s beef kill was 33,900 head, which was in line with the numbers this time last year of 33,615 head.”