Factories continue to apply pressure to factory quotes this week, with some quotes back 5c/kg on last week’s quotes. Others have held firm with the same prices being quoted this week as the end of last week.

Bullocks are being quoted at €5.10/kg to €5.15/kg, with heifers working off €5.15/kg to €5.20/kg.

Factory demand for cattle is still only luke warm, with many factories now operating a booking list to get cattle killed five to seven days in advance.

Factory agents are also trying to inject some panic into the trade with talk of more cuts to come.

Factories are concentrating on their bigger suppliers and contracted cattle, with the small finisher having very little selling power in the current climate.

'Sluggish' retail markets

Industry sources have suggested that retail markets for beef is sluggish and demand hasn’t been near where it has been in other years.

The most recent supermarket figures from the UK for the 12-week period up to 16 April 2023 show volume of sales back 1.7%, while spend is up almost 11%.

Bulls haven’t escaped the cuts, with U grading bulls back at €5.30/kg and R grading bulls being quoted at €5.10/kg in some instances, but €5.20/kg is achievable to the hard seller.

Under-16-bull quotes also took a hit. They are being quoted from €5.10/kg to €5.20/kg on the grid excluding the in-spec QA bonus of 12c/kg. Huge month

It’s a huge month for under-16-month bull finishers, with a lot of spring-born bulls coming close to 16 months old and have to be killed to get the in-spec bonus.

These bulls are also leaving big feed bills behind them, with over 1.5t/head of feed in a lot of them and the 20c/kg cut in some cases over the last three weeks means €80/head less in farmers pockets.

Cows

Cows have also taken a dent to quotes, with prices down 5c to 10c/kg across the board, based on quotes over the last two weeks.

U grading cows are trading anywhere from €4.90/kg to €5.00/kg, with plants most active for top-quality cows continuing to show a keen appetite for the right stock.

R grading cows are trading from €4.80/kg to €4.90/kg. O grading cows are at €4.60/kg to €4.70/kg, with P grading cows coming in at €4.40/kg to €4.50/kg.

Finisher frustration is mounting, with winter finishers being especially targeted with the current pressure on prices.

Cattle currently being finished out of sheds are some of the most expensive cattle of the year, having been consuming expensive feed over the last few months.

While factories remain negative about the trade outlook, a good week of weather across the UK should kick start barbecue season and, with that, add a boost to demand.