Ongoing pressure on beef prices and higher costs stemming from earlier housing dates in cases is putting additional pressure on what is already shaky confidence in winter finishing.
Ongoing pressure on beef prices and higher costs stemming from earlier housing dates in cases is putting additional pressure on what is already shaky confidence in winter finishing.
Prices have eased in some cases by 2c/kg to 5c/kg in the last week, with factories armed with high throughput levels and using this to maintain the upper hand in many negotiations.
The base price for steers ranges from €3.70/kg to €3.75/kg, with sellers meeting resistance in trying to exceed this. Heifers are trading on a mixture of a base of €3.80/kg and €3.85/kg, with some deals reported a few cent higher at the top of the market.
Steer throughput eased last week by 980 head to 18,242, but this drop was compensated for by cows starting to come in greater frequency from dairy herds and rising from 6,753 to 7,740 head. This, combined with a small increase of 215 extra heifers (8,860) and 76 more young bulls processed (2,259), led to the weekly kill rising to an even higher level of 37,771. This is the highest weekly kill since 2010, with weekly kills of this magnitude common in 2010 and the preceding years.
Demand for cows is being underpinned by a continued strong trade for manufacturing beef. Prices are steady, with plants most active in the cow trade keen to maintain their share of cows.
It is important to note that the price differential between plants is even greater for poor-quality cows lacking flesh.
In cases, prices for very light cows with a very poor cover of flesh are falling back to €2.00/kg to €2.30/kg for very poor-quality cows to €2.50/kg for P grades with a fat cover of 1+.
There is no real change in the price for fleshed cows, with P+3 grades averaging €3.20/kg to €3.25/kg, with regular sellers securing 3c/kg to 5c/kg higher.
O grades continue to sell from €3.30/kg to €3.35/kg on average, with top prices rising to €3.40/kg to €3.45/kg. R grades are selling to a top of €3.50/kg to €3.55/kg, while U grades are starting at €3.50/kg in plants with low activity in the cow market and rising to €3.65/kg for heavy and young cows.
Bull prices are coming under pressure from falling steer and heifer prices. R grades are selling in small numbers from €3.80/kg to €3.85/kg, while U grades are selling from €3.85/kg to €3.90/kg.
Specialist finishers are securing a 5c/kg to 10c/kg premium above this range, while bulls less than 16 months and trading on the grid are moving on average at a base of €3.75/kg.
Steady NI trade
Northern prices are steady, with the U-3 base for steers and heifers starting at £3.48/kg. Sterling has weakened again in recent days and at Wednesday’s exchange rate of 89.6p to the euro, this equates to €4.09/kg including VAT at 5.4%.
A high percentage of cattle are trading at a higher base of £3.50/kg (€4.13/kg), while regular sellers are securing 2p/kg to 4p/kg higher.
The Northern prime cattle kill increased by 500 head to over 7,000 cattle a fortnight ago and initial estimates suggest this was repeated last week, while the cow and bull kill is likely to have been steady at about 2,500 head.
British prices have come under some pressure over the last week to 10 days, with average prices easing 2p/kg, but still holding at a high level of £3.80/kg to £3.84/kg (€4.47/kg to €4.52/kg) for R4L steers and heifers.
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