The beef trade appears to have ridden out the storm of the last two weeks, with no changes to quotes this week and cattle being bought at the same quotes for next week.

Supplies of finished cattle remain very tight across the water in Britain. Factories are keeping an eye on the Christmas trade, so will be anxious to keep their customers on side over the next few weeks.

In the main, bullocks are working off €4.60/kg, with a few factories still trying to buy bullocks at €4.55/kg.

Heifers are working off 5c/kg more at €4.65/kg, with €4.70/kg base price also being paid for heifers this week.

Regular customers and those with numbers have more bargaining power and are working 5c to 10c/kg ahead quotes.

Foyle Meats, Donegal, is quoting a €4.65/kg base price for bullocks and a €4.70/kg base price for heifers for carcases killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

The bull trade remains pretty stable, with €4.85/kg being paid for U grading under-24-month bulls this week.

R grading bulls are being quoted at €4.75/kg to €4.80/kg, with a little more going to regular suppliers and those with numbers.

O and P grading bulls are trading at 5c to 10c/kg less than this. Under-16-month bulls are in short supply and generally working off a base price of €4.60/kg to €4.65/kg.

Cow prices

Factory appetite for cows remains strong, with increased numbers of cows in marts and factories having no effect on the trade of good cows.

The only exception to this is the very light P1 parlour cows, with very few factories having any appetite for these. Some factories are quoting as low as €2.00/kg for these dairy cows this week.

Well-fleshed P+3 cows continue to trade at €3.70/kg to €3.80/kg, depending on weight and quality.

O grading cows are working off €3.90/kg to €4.00/kg, while good R grading cows are coming in at €4.20/kg to €4.40/kg.

U grading cows are being quoted at €4.40/kg to €4.50/kg in some factories this week.

Last week’s kill came in at 39,285, an increase of 931 on the previous week.

After a number of weeks of continuous increases, the cow kill steadied this week at just under 9,000 head, a similar figure to last week’s kill.

All other categories saw small increases on the previous week. Speaking to agents, prime cattle supplies are expected to tighten a lot in the coming weeks, with very few animals on feed for slaughter before Christmas.

Prices in America

Taking a look at beef prices around the world, the top of the market at the moment is the USA, with an R3 bullock coming into €6.42/kg incl VAT. This is up €1.34/kg on the same week in 2022.

US beef production is set to drop 600,000t in 2023, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

There’s been a big fall-off in feedlot cattle in the USA over the last few months, with expensive stores keeping some feedlot owners out of the finishing business, with many afraid of getting burned should prices take a dip.

There has been a growth in cull cow slaughterings on the back of the big beef price, but not enough to compensate the decline in prime cattle numbers.

The decline is expected to continue into 2024, with a further 800,000t drop predicted.

NI comment

There are mixed fortunes in the beef trade in Northern Ireland. While prime cattle are generally a steady trade, cull cows are under pressure. Steers and heifers remain on a base of 452p/kg (€5.53/kg inc VAT) for U-3 animals, with deals from 466p to 472p/kg (€5.71 to €5.78/kg) depending on numbers available. In contrast, quotes on cows are back 10p to 25p/kg, with R3 animals on 340p/kg (€4.16/kg) and deals limited to 350p/kg (€4.28p/kg).