Procurement managers are a little more interested in cattle this week, with a few late night and early morning texts about cattle supplies being sent this week.

The thinking on the ground is that the trade has bottomed out and the only way beef price can go now is up.

The general run of quotes hasn’t changed a lot this week, with bullocks working off €4.50/kg to €4.55/kg and heifers working off €4.55/kg to €4.60/kg.

Foyle Meats, Donegal, is still out in front with its base quote of €4.65/kg for bullocks and €4.70/kg for heifers.

This quote excludes the 10c/kg bonus for carcases killing out between 300kg and 400kg and also excludes any breed bonuses.

Bonuses remain from 10c to 20c/kg in most factories for suitable quality assured Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle.

The Christmas trade is now top of the list of priorities for beef processors as they switch to filling prime cattle orders over the next six weeks.

This has meant there is extra demand for in-spec under-30-month cattle, with some factories shying away from heavier out-of-spec cattle.

While it may seem early, much of the Christmas demand happens in early December and some of the dry aged products which have been gaining in popularity in recent years have a 35-day ageing process, so animals killed this week would be on the shelf on the first week of December.

Cows

The cow trade remains under pressure, with some factories dropping quotes to €3.90/kg this week for P grading cows.

O grading cows are working off €4.10/kg to €4.20/kg, with R grading cows coming in at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg.

Some factories specialising in cows are applying 5c to 10c/kg more, especially for good-quality young cows.

These is some talk in the trade about a World Cup bounce for the manufacturing trade when the tournament starts in November.

While the tournament takes place in Qatar, it’s expected that a lot of gatherings will take place across the UK, with the pub food trade expected to benefit strongly from one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

The bull trade remains in a similar position this week, with R and U grading bulls working off €4.50/kg to €4.60/kg. O and P grading bulls are back at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg.

Last week’s kill came in at just over 40,000 head again, which is another high kill.

The thoughts are that this level of kill won’t continue and the current numbers are being driven by cattle coming off grass as ground conditions deteriorate around the country.

Once the switch is made to shed cattle, it will be a different story.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “Beef prices in our key export markets remain steady and strong, opening up a gap of 33c/kg above our price in the latest Bord Bia prime export benchmark EU market price.

“The opportunism of factories in continually dropping prices when they know farmers are under pressure to sell must stop.

“The EU export benchmark price has increased by 6c/kg in the latest week, showing the strength of demand for beef in this key market, which is at odds with the relentless and unjustified price cuts by factories on beef prices,” he said.

NI comment

Prices are edging upwards for good-quality heifers in Northern Ireland this week. Quotes are unchanged on 426p/kg (€5.22/kg inc VAT) for U-3 grading animals, but this falls short of what is on offer.

Heifers start on 442p/kg and rise to 446p/kg (€5.42 to €5.47/kg), with more on offer for butcher-type animals.

Steers are a steadier trade at 438p to 440p/kg (€5.36 to €5.39/kg), with bulls on 430p/kg (€5.27/kg). Cows has eased slightly with deals on 370p to 380p/kg (€4.53 to €4.66/kg).