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The weather may have warmed up this week, but there is no heat in the beef trade.
The overall kill was similar to the week before at 34,624 head, but for steers and heifers there was a general 5c/kg cut in prices to a €3.75/kg base for R3 steers and a €3.85/kg base for R3 heifers and only the very exceptional report of these prices being bettered.
Indications for next week are that it will be a case of holding these prices, with factories reporting no great demand for beef to this point.
There will be some hope that the warmer weather across Europe will help drive a BBQ demand.
Turning to young bulls, those under 16 months are being quoted as low as €3.60/kg, with a top of €3.70/kg being reported and overall little interest in under-16-month young bulls by factory agents.
Young bulls up to 24 months are starting to get scarce, with agents reporting that the next couple of weeks will see most of them gone.
Prices for these bulls are €3.65 for Rs and €3.75 for Us in general, but we have also heard of 5c/kg more being paid, which is one of the better prices of the week.
Cows also seem to be holding, with P grades in the range of €2.80/kg to €2.90/kg in the main, with as high as €2.95/kg reported.
On O grading cows, they are being mainly traded between €2.90/kg and €3.00/kg, with up to €3.05/kg reported.
The really good beef cow with an R grade is making €3.20/kg and occasionally a little more.
As always with cows, the range of prices is quite wide, with some factories more keen than others.
The further drop in prime beef price this week and best hope that the trade steadies is depressing news for farmers with cattle to sell.
Factories are complaining about a bad beef trade and slow demand, while IFA livestock chair Angus Woods says factories are ripping the life out of the beef sector with their ongoing cuts.
He has called on them to stop the cuts and undermining the market with the current quotes.
Northern trade
Up North, prices are also under serious pressure, with the added problem of getting cattle into the factories.
The week after next has two bank holidays and this means that with next week fully booked, in many cases cattle are being pushed back until the third week of July.
There are similar reports of delays in Scotland.
U3 steer base quotes in the North for next week are in the range £3.22/kg to £3.28/kg, the equivalent of €3.79/kg to €3.86/kg when converted to euro at 89.6p=€1 and VAT at 5.4% is added.
Heifers are being quoted at up to £3.30/kg (€3.88/kg) and young bulls between £3.28/kg and £3.30/kg (€3.86/kg to €3.88/kg).
Cows are holding up better, with top-quality R3 grading cows making £3.06/kg and O+3s making £2.50/kg (€2.94/kg).
Britain
In Britain, prices are also back on last week by 4p/kg, with R4L steers averaging £3.46/kg (€4.08/kg) and heifers slightly less, with R3Ls at £3.45/kg (€4.06/kg) when converted at 89.6p =€1 and 5.4% VAT is added.
While supplies of Irish prime cattle have risen by 5.8% since the beginning of the year, it’s a different story in Great Britain, with the kill remaining static when compared with 2018 figures. The announcement last week that China has agreed market access for beef should be a boost to British beef producers.
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