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The beef trade is starting the week strongly. Factory agents are slow to show their hand on price and are trying to purchase steers at a base of €4.15/kg to €4.20/kg and heifers at a base of €4.25/kg to €4.30/kg. Sellers with greater negotiating power are securing the higher price. With some factories slow to increase quotes, they are also fearful of losing out to competing plants and are asking producers to relate back before selling elsewhere.
There is a similar scenario evident for bulls. R grading bulls aged over 16 months and trading off the grid are being offered a base of €4.10/kg to €4.15/kg. However, a higher price of €4.20/kg to €4.25/kg has also been secured where bulls are traded as part of a larger consignment of U grading bulls, with prices for U grades ranging from €4.20/kg to €4.25/kg.
Specialist finishers are also having more success on carcase weight limits, with factories happy to be getting the higher volumes. The exception to this is with bulls less than 16 months trading on the grid, with many restricting a higher base of €4.20/kg for bulls less than 420kg to 430kg carcase weight and reducing the base by 5c/kg for significantly heavier bulls.
Cow kill
Many people are of the opinion that the cow kill is running well ahead of previous years' levels given the high numbers presented in marts. This is a fair assessment, with marts handling significantly higher numbers. However, it is likely that this is stemming from farmers opting to present cows to take advantage of higher competition and a firm trade, with annual throughput running just 6,829 head above 2017 comparable levels. There is also the potential that some of these could be heading for further feeding and contribute to a higher kill later in the year.
Prices are strong, with P+3 grades trading anywhere from €3.40/kg to €3.55/kg, while O grades are moving from an even wider differential of €3.55/kg to in excess of €3.70/kg. R grades are selling on average from €3.75/kg to €3.85/kg, but up to €3.90/kg has been paid for heavy fleshed cows, while U grades are trading at a similar range, with top prices rising to €3.95/kg to €4.00/kg.
Northern trade
Plants in Northern Ireland continue to operate off opening U-3 base quotes of £3.58/kg to £3.62/kg or the equivalent of €4.08/kg to €4.13/kg and €4.30/kg to €4.35/kg VAT inclusive at 5.4%. Regular sellers remain capable of securing significantly higher, with LMC’s weekly bulletin showing U-3 steer prices rising to the high-£3.60s, while top prices for heifers are reaching and even exceeding £3.70/kg. Fleshed O grading cows with weight on their side are at an average of £2.95/kg (€3.54/kg).
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