The level of trading carried out this week by factories is low, with the majority of cattle changing hands purchased in advance of the Christmas break. A high percentage of these have been supplied by regular sellers or feeders with large numbers on hand.
The level of trading carried out this week by factories is low, with the majority of cattle changing hands purchased in advance of the Christmas break.
A high percentage of these have been supplied by regular sellers or feeders with large numbers on hand.
As such, many of these deals have been completed at the higher end of the market, with a base of €4.05/kg paid for steers and €4.15/kg paid for heifers.
Sellers with smaller numbers are trading at a 3c/kg to 5c/kg lower base, while there has also been deals done including transport.
The strength of the market, driven by demand for manufacturing beef, means that factories cannot rest on their laurels and need to be in a position to maintain high levels of output.
This is likely to see the kill exceed the average of about 20,000 head for a short three-day Christmas week kill.
Should this materialise, it will push the annual kill to between 1.74 and 1.75m head, a figure not recorded since 2003.
There is no real change in the trade for young bulls and cows.
R grading bulls are trading from €4.00/kg to €4.05/kg, while U grades are trading anywhere from €4.05/kg to €4.15/kg, with numbers trading and the supplier-processor relationship influencing the price achieved.
At the higher end of the market, there have been deals completed flat at €4.05/kg where a mixed batch comprises mainly R grades and €4.10/kg where there are more U grades in the mix.
Numbers offered have an even greater influence on prices paid for Friesian bulls, with reports showing a range in price from €3.80/kg all the way to €3.95/kg where bulls have been traded in very large lots.
Bulls less than 16 months and trading on the grid are selling from a base of €4.00/kg to €4.05/kg.
Cow prices
There is also a large differential in cow prices between plants. Prices for P+3 grading cows range on average from €3.20/kg to €3.30/kg, but prices 5c/kg either side of this have also been paid.
Fleshed O grading cows are trading from €3.30/kg to €3.40/kg and a top of €3.45/kg, with R grades ranging on average from €3.50/kg to €3.60/kg. Again, 5c/kg higher has been secured by suppliers of large numbers, with top prices for U grades rising to €3.70/kg.
Northern trade
The northern trade is also steady, with the level of trading low this week.
Plants reduced base quotes by 2p/kg before the Christmas break to a U-3 base range of £3.50/kg to £3.52/kg. This is the equivalent of €3.95/kg to €3.98/kg at 88.5p to the euro and €4.16 to €4.19/kg including VAT at 5.4%.
The reality is that there has not been many deals completed at this level, with plants sourcing the majority of supplies for Christmas week from regular sellers, with prices for these cattle rising to the high £3.50s to low £3.60s.
O grading cows remain unchanged at £2.60/kg to £2.75/kg (€3.10/kg to €3.28/kg), with top prices for O+ grades to £2.90/kg (€3.45/kg).
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