There are some signs of the factories' grasp on the beef trade starting to weaken. Agents who were pushing out large groups of cattle to better manage throughput are this week more anxious to get cattle moving. This is leaving sellers with a bit more bargaining power and some are pushing prices to a base of €4.10/kg for steers and €4.20/kg for heifers.

This is also occurring for deals involving smaller numbers, but with regular sellers in independent plants with less access to contract or feedlot cattle. Outside of this, a high percentage of steers are trading at a base of €4.05/kg, with producers also having more success in lifting above a base of €4.00/kg. A similar story is evident for heifers, with more cattle moving at a base of €4.15/kg.

Cow trade

The cow trade remains the standout performer so far in 2018. Prices continue to creep upwards, with P+3 grading cows selling anywhere from €3.30/kg to €3.45/kg, O grades from €3.40/kg to €3.60/kg, Rs from €3.55/kg to over €3.70/kg, while the best U grading cows are rising to as high as €3.85/kg. The mart trade is also brisk, with wholesale buyers competing with factory agents for young fleshed cows.

Bull trade

Bulls are steady and continue to trade at a range of €4.00/kg to €4.05/kg for R grades and €4.10/kg to €4.15/kg for U grades. Friesian bulls are not far behind, with prices at the lower end of the market starting at €3.80/kg and rising as high as €4.00/kg for O=/+ grading bulls with a good cover of flesh. Those less than 16 months and trading on the grid are selling on average from a base of €4.05/kg.

Northern trade

There is also more life in the northern trade, with signs of the trade again gaining momentum as the week progresses. Many deals are now touching or rising above a U-3 steer and heifer base of £3.60/kg. Sterling has recovered in strength from last week and at an exchange rate of 87.5p to the euro, this equates to €4.11/kg, or €4.36/kg including VAT at 5.4%. Regular sellers and producers handling larger numbers are securing higher returns, with top prices edging towards £3.70/kg (€4.46/kg).