Bord Bia data shows that the value of Irish beef exports was worth €843m for the first three months of 2026, a new record for the first quarter of the year.
Phelim O’Neill goes into the detail on page 28 this week. This will be cold comfort for farmers, who are facing yet another drop in beef price quotes for sheds full of expensive cattle. On top of that, factories are operating strictly to a schedule that suits themselves and many farmers are facing a delay with booking in times extending to several weeks.
The experience of cattle finishers this spring will shatter the confidence that was building in Irish beef producers in 2025. The very least farmers deserve in the current situation is some explanation of why factories with an insatiable appetite a year ago for cattle are now effectively closed for bookings, never mind negotiating a fair price.
They may point to increased competition from imports in our main UK export market but that isn’t enough to explain how they have dropped from being ahead of the export benchmark price at the start of the year to being 40c/kg below it in the first week of May.
Current factory procurement policy is to buy as cheaply as possible and take advantage of farmers having to clear sheds and cut their losses on a disastrous 2025 winter finishing period.
SHARING OPTIONS