The beef trade has come under some pressure this week, with factory agents a little cooler than the previous week when it comes to purchasing finished cattle.

Base quotes for bullocks have moved back to €6.60/kg, while base quotes for heifers have eased back to €6.70/kg – with very few heifers now moving at €6.80/kg. The cow trade has also eased back, with P+3 cows now being bought at €6-€6.10/kg in some locations.

Under-16 month bulls have also dropped back 10c/kg and are now working off a base price of €6.60/kg before any grid bonuses.

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IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said the “Bord Bia Prime Export Benchmark price is 45c/kg above ours and factories must do more to close this gap. Factories and Bord Bia cannot just sit back and allow quality assured Irish beef be devalued in our key export markets by weak selling and increased volumes of cheap southern hemisphere beef that has been given access to our markets.

“Bord Bia need to start justifying the money Irish farmers pay them to promote our beef against these cheap non quality assured imports in the UK and EU markets”.