Finisher frustration is mounting as beef prices continue to fall. Irish beef finishers are currently losing €300/head on store cattle purchased this spring. Fears are now growing about the knock-on effect for the autumn weanling and store trade.

Bullock base prices have dropped to €4.90/kg, with heifers at €4.95/kg to €5/kg. There are indications of further price cuts to come. The annual summer price pull is six weeks earlier than normal, with prices now 20c/kg to 25c/kg back on this time last year.

Demand for beef across mainland Europe has stagnated, with increased South American imports into the EU adding pressure. In contrast, the UK market remains relatively strong. Prices there are 60c/kg to 70c/kg or about €270/head above Irish levels.

ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham described it as a “tinderbox situation”, saying: “Farmers are at their wits’ end. Factories are not acknowledging that ... it has never been more costly to produce beef.”

Bord Bia’s beef manager Joe Burke said the difficult market was due to declining values for forequarter and manufacturing beef cuts and fewer price promotions by retailers.