Local meat plants have taken 10p/kg off the quotes being offered for cattle and warned of further reductions to come next week.

The starting prices on offer are generally around the 610p to 612p/kg mark for U-3 grading cattle, with suggestions prices could go as low as 600p/kg into early May.

Current prices are down nearly 30p/kg since February and around 40p/kg behind what was being paid last autumn. Sources in the trade point to slow beef sales as consumers rein in spending in response to high energy prices due to the war in Iran.

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The spike in energy prices has also impacted local processors, with higher costs when transporting beef across the Irish Sea, while reports suggest there is plenty of cheap beef from Australia and New Zealand in the British market, which is undermining the local trade.

However, it is beef finishers who are being left to take the financial hit, with analysis by the Irish Farmers Journal suggesting at current prices, losses on cattle purchased last autumn are now around £350 per head.

That analysis assumes 500kg steers were bought last October at a fairly conservative price of 420p/kg live.

Even allowing for the £75 per head Beef Carbon Reduction (BCR) payment, the returns generated by these animals won’t cover basic feeding costs, never mind the likes of shed maintenance, machinery running costs or a margin to cover the labour input from a farmer.

Supply chain

The chairman of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) beef and sheep committee, Brendan Kelly has hit out at the latest reduction in beef prices, suggesting it highlights a deeper issue within the food supply chain.

“Farmers are, once again, the ones expected to absorb the shock. Everyone else along the chain appears able to protect their margins, while primary producers are left exposed,” he said.

Kelly described the current situation as “unsustainable” and “fundamentally unfair”, with further pressure being added by beef imports and UK trade policy, leaving farmers competing with products that are reared to different standards.

“That is not a level playing field,” he said.

He was also critical of the lack of communication from processors.

“Prices are moving week to week with little explanation, and that is fuelling real anger on the ground. Farmers are being asked to plan and invest in their businesses without any clear signals about where the market is heading,” said Kelly.

Sheep trade

There has also been some downward pressure on hogget and lamb prices, with one processor taking prices down by 40p/kg this week, leaving hoggets at 800p/kg and lambs at 860p/kg. The mart trade also suffered a wobble at the start of the week, but sales mid-week had firmed.