After nearly two months of steady price rises, base quotes for clean cattle are steady this week. The best quote is 616p for a U-3 grade steer and 620p for a U-3 grade heifer.

The actual deals on offer remain around the 628p/kg to 630p/kg mark for U-3 grades, with slightly more going for larger suppliers and heifers.

While factories are still keen for cattle as they look to meet UK retailer demand for Christmas, reports suggest there is no shortage of finished cattle available, with the plants fully booked next week. As a result, that has stalled any upward momentum.

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The average price paid last week for steers and heifers did increase for the seventh week in a row and was up another 1.1p at 623.1p/kg.

The price paid for U3 steers averaged 630.5p/kg, up 2p, with R3 steers at 629.1p/kg, a rise of 2.4p on the previous week. U3 heifers increased 1.8p to average 633.2p/kg.

One of the biggest increases was in the price paid for young bulls, with U3s up 4p to average 627.2p/kg. That price is only 3.3p behind the steer equivalent – normally that difference sits between 6p and 8p/kg.

Britain

In Britain, prices paid were also up again last week, with the increases generally in the 1p to 3p/kg price range. During September, prices paid in Scotland moved nearly 15p/kg ahead of English counterparts, although those gaps have all narrowed during October.

With U and R grades realising over 650p/kg and pushing towards 660p/kg in some cases, the gap to NI prices has widened out slightly in recent weeks to sit around 20p to 25p/kg. This time last year, prices paid in NI were very closely matched with those across the Irish Sea.

Imports

Prices paid in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) remain over 40p/kg behind NI. Last week saw 414 head imported from the south for direct slaughter in NI, with just 28 cattle going in the opposite direction.

Cows

The best quotes for fat cows remain at 520p for an R grade and 510p for an O+ animal. The prices paid for R3 and R4 cows last week in NI averaged over 540p/kg.

Unlike prime cattle, those cow prices are slightly ahead of Britain, with the local trade bolstered by a strong market in ROI.

NI sheep: no change to lamb quotes

Factory quotes for fat lambs are steady, with a best of 690p for 22kg. In the marts, the trade has eased slightly.

In Gortin, heavy lambs at 28kg made £165. Lambs at 24kg sold to £146. Store lambs were a strong trade, with 20kg making up to £132 and 17kg to £124.

In Kilrea, 24kg sold to £151.50 or 631p/kg. Lambs at 23kg made £147 or 639p/kg, with 22kg at £136.50 or 621p. Stores at 17kg reached £120 or 706p, with 17.5kg at £118 or 674p/kg.

In Markethill, heavy lambs sold to 625p for 24kg at £150, with 604p for 26kg at £157. Mid-weights sold to 690p/kg for 20kg at £138, with 684p for 20.1kg at £137.50.

Store lambs sold to 843p/kg for 14kg at £118 and 832p for 14.9kg at £124. Heavier sorts made 763p/kg for 17.1kg at £130.50.

In Saintfield, lambs ranged from 575p to 700p/kg.

In Ballymena, a steady trade saw lambs at 26kg selling for £157 or 604p/kg, with 25kg at £153 or 612p. Lambs at 24.5kg made £146.50 and £147 or 598p and 600p/kg. Stores at 18.5kg made £123 or 665p/kg.

Fat ewes

In Gortin, ewes sold from £150 to £206 and in Kilrea the top was £310. In Markethill, the best ewes made from £140 to £194, with seconds from £100 to £130.