The beef trade remains in positive mode this week ahead of the Easter holiday period.

Factories have been slow to increase quotes by any great amount. However, the lower range of quotes for bullocks and heifers are lifting.

Bullocks are working off base prices of €5.15/kg to €5.20/kg this week, with heifers being quoted at €5.25/kg to €5.30/kg.

Deals for loads of bullocks and heifers have been brokered at €5.25/kg base price this week.

Traditional breeds are still in demand, with bonuses of between 20c and 25c/kg for Hereford- and Aberdeen Angus-bred cattle.

Flat prices are also available for Aberdeen Angus cattle, with some quoting €5.60/kg flat price.

Bulls

The young bull trade has seen a slight improvement this week, with €5.40/kg back on the table for U grading young bulls in some of the factories specialising in bulls.

Base price of €5.40/kg is also available for loads of R and U grading bulls this week.

R grading bulls are being quoted at €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg, while O and P grading bulls are being paid out at 10c/kg less.

Under-16-month bulls are generally working off €5.15/kg to €5.20/kg base price, with the 12c/kg in-spec bonus being added in along with grading for the final price.

Cull cows

Cull cows also remain a very solid trade, with good demand from the manufacturing trade ahead of the Easter holiday period underpinning cow quotes in the last week

U grading suckler cows are still top of the market, with €4.70/kg to €4.80/kg being paid for good-quality, young well-fleshed cows this week.

R grading cows have strengthened a little and are working off €4.50/kg to €4.60/kg, with O grading suckler cows coming in at €4.40/kg, while P grading cows are working off €4.10/kg to €4.20/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Weekly kill

Last week’s kill came in at 31,174 head of prime cattle, including cows. This was down from the previous week’s kill of 33,614 due to the four-day week.

Heifers saw the biggest drop of over 1,000 head, while the bullock kill actually increased last week.

The cow kill was also back almost 1,100 head last week to 7,605 cows killed.

The number of calves being slaughtered continues to drop, with 1,892 calves slaughtered last week. This compares with 2,852 calves slaughtered for the same week in 2023.

So far, there have been 11,730 fewer calves slaughtered in 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.

Across the water, the beef trade remains steady with 505p/kg (€6.20/kg incl VAT) on the table for R4L bullocks this week.

A very strong retail trade is underpinning demand across the UK at the moment.

Irish Farmers’ Association livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said: “Demand for beef in our key UK and EU markets is strong, with supplies in these markets reducing for the year, creating real potential for strong and sustained growth in beef prices here.

“EU beef production dropped 4% in 2023, with a further reduction of 1% projected for this year. UK beef supplies are predicted to tighten in particular for the second half of the year and into 2025, as figures show the numbers of cattle under 12 months of age to be down 3% year on year.”

Northern comment

Base quotes are unchanged at northern plants, with 460p/kg (€5.63/kg inc VAT) for U-3 grading animals, although prices are running well above this level at 480p to 486p/kg (€5.88 to €5.95/kg) with regular finishers finding it easier to secure higher prices.

Young bulls are making 470p to 480p/kg (€5.76 to €5.88/kg), with cull cows hovering around 360p/kg (€4.41/kg) for R grading animals.