A huge gap has opened up between Irish and UK beef prices. The latest available data from Bord Bia for the week ending 21 September, show the Irish R3 bullock price coming in at €5.32/kg, including VAT, while the UK R3 bullock price for the same week came in at €6.38/kg, including VAT, a gap of €1.06/kg or €403/head on a 380kg carcase. Numbers of animals travelling to Northern Ireland for direct slaughter have also increased to 1,104 last week, the highest number so far in 2024. The number of animals sent to NI for direct slaughter in September is up over 600 head on the September 2023 figure, to 4,134 animals.

For more, see Beef Trends on page 62.