The beef trade remains in a steady position this week, as factories maintain last week's quotes across the country.

Some factories had been trying to reduce quotes below €4.55/kg, but have met a lot of resistance in doing so.

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

Heifers ae 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 of these quotes.

Foyle Meats, Dongeal, 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.

Bull trade

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.

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 €3.80/kg to €3.90/kg, depending on weight and quality.

O grading cows are working off €4.00/kg to €4.10/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.

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 for 2024.