The beef trade looks to be in a more stable position this week, with some agents reporting that steers and heifers are in tighter supply.
This has helped steady the trade on a base of €3.90/kg for steers and €4.00/kg for heifers.
Sellers who were offered a lower quote have had more success in resisting attempts to lower prices, while more farmers trading at the top end of the market have secured bases of €3.95/kg and €4.05/kg respectively.
The cow trade remains vibrant, with greater purchasing activity underpinning a 528 head increase in last week’s cow throughput.
This increase to 7,488 head helped to offset a reduction in steer and heifer throughput.
The steer kill reduced by 426 head to 10,434, while heifer throughput also fell by 499 head to 9,692.
There was also an increase of 260 young bulls (to 5,860) and close to a doubling in throughput of bulls over 24 months of age, from 360 head to 664. This delivered a net change in the weekly kill of 141 extra animals processed, at 34,182 head.
It is hard to put a range on cow prices given the wide differential between prices paid to producers with small numbers and those handling large numbers. This is evident across all classes of cows.
P+3 grading cows continue to range on average from €3.25/kg to €3.35/kg, while O grades have an even wider differential ranging from €3.30/kg to €3.50/kg.
R grades range in the main from €3.50/kg to €3.60/kg, but up to €3.70/kg has been paid to specialist finishers or where cows have been traded in large numbers with a mixture of U grades.
Bull prices are steady. R grades are selling from €3.85/kg to €3.90/kg, while U grades are selling from €3.90/kg to €4.00/kg. Again, specialist producers are in the best negotiating position.
O grading Friesian bulls are trading from €3.65/kg to €3.80/kg, with conformation, numbers offered and the purchasing plant having a big influence on price. Bulls less than 16 months and trading on the grid are selling from a base of €3.90/kg to €3.95/kg.
NI trade
There is some pressure on the northern trade, but, as yet, no real change in prices paid.
Base U-3 steer and heifer quotes remain mainly at a range of £3.52/kg to £3.56/kg, which at Wednesday’s exchange rate of 88.8p to the euro equates to €3.97/kg to €4.02/kg or €4.18/kg to €4.24/kg including VAT at 5.4%.
Regular sellers continue to command higher prices, with top prices rising to the low- to mid-£3.60s. British R4L steer and heifer prices are steady at £3.70/kg (€4.39/kg incl VAT).
R3 grading young bulls average £3.52/kg (€4.18/kg incl VAT), while O+3 grading cows average £2.82/kg (€3.35/kg incl VAT).
Christmas demand
Kantar Worldpanel figures reported by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) have shed some light into explaining what underpinned higher demand for beef towards the end of 2017.
British consumers spent £1bn more on groceries at Christmas, compared with 2016 levels, with sales of beef and lamb highlighted for their contribution to the strong performance.
Within this, roasting joints were singled out for their performance, while sales of stewing beef, steaks and mince also all recorded growth.
The report says that sales of fresh and frozen beef showed a 5.8% year-on-year increase in value and a 3.3% increase in volume, which no doubt provided a significant boost in demand for Irish beef exports.