Beef Trends: prime cattle hold as cows move north

In-spec cattle continue to trade around the €3.60/kg mark for steers and heifers this week. There are factories quoting €3.55/kg, but most are willing to pay €3.60/kg when pushed.

There is still a huge appetite for Aberdeen Angus and Angus-cross cattle in the trade, with some agents on the phone this week looking for suitable cattle to meet retail demand.

Flat-priced deals of as high as €4.00/kg have been paid for Aberdeen Angus heifers this week.

I have heard of one factory agent paying €3.40/kg for a load of young continental cows this week

Cows appear to have steadied, with P+3 grading cows being bought at €2.70/kg, with a shade more going for heavier well-fleshed cows.

O grading cows are around the €2.80/kg mark, while good-quality R grading cows are still trading at €3.10/kg, with more being paid for larger numbers or a mix of R and U grades.

I have heard of one factory agent paying €3.40/kg for a load of young continental cows this week.

Bull quotes remain relatively unchanged at €3.50/kg being paid for under-24-month R grade bulls and €3.55/kg to €3.60/kg for U grades.

O grading bulls are back at €3.40/kg. Under-16-month bulls continue to trade at €3.55/kg to €3.60/kg on the grid.

Kill figures

Last week’s kill jumped to 32,325, up 1,232 cattle on the previous week’s kill and up 517 head on the corresponding week in 2019.

These higher numbers are a reflection of the demand that exists in the trade at the moment.

The young bull kill continues to lag well behind last year’s kill, with 2,868 bulls killed last week, 1,917 head behind the young bull kill of 4,785 head for the corresponding week in 2019.

There has been a massive jump in exports of cattle to Northern Ireland in the last few weeks

There was an extra 700 steers killed last week compared with the previous week, along with an extra 600 heifers.

There has been a massive jump in exports of cattle to Northern Ireland in the last few weeks.

Exports for direct slaughter rose to 1,039 head last week, up from 560 head in the previous week and up from 160 head for the corresponding week in 2019.

Food service and takeaways opening up again has led to a big demand for mince and cows are in short supply north of the border

The majority of these exports have been cows for direct slaughter.

Food service and takeaways opening up again has led to a big demand for mince and cows are in short supply north of the border.

NI agents active

Rather than increase the price, processors have moved south for supplies. A number of agents for NI customers have been very active in southern marts over the last two weeks buying cows.

A large price differential has opened up for cows north and south of the border.

Prices for good R+3 cows in southern factories this week are around €3.10/kg and are making the same price in sterling north of the border at £3.10/kg (€3.48/kg ex-VAT).

Price pressure

IFA national livestock chair Brendan Golden said based on rising beef prices across both the UK and EU markets, there was no justification for any price pressure from the factories.

He said UK cattle prices are up 15p/kg in the last two weeks, beef sales at retail level are up 18% and the AIMs data is showing over 100,000 less beef cattle in the supply pipeline.

Golden has also called on Minister Creed to come forward immediately with a direct payment package for finishers who have taken a massive financial hit as a result of the COVID-19 and Brexit price cuts.