Factories continue to heap pressure on the beef trade, with another cut being applied to beef quotes this week.

This is the third week in a row that factories have dropped quotes, with base prices now back 30c/kg or over €100/head on a 340kg carcase in the last three weeks.

The reduced quotes have angered winter finishers, who were hoping for a price rise as cattle finishers head into the most expensive four to six weeks of finishing in the year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cattle being finished over the next two months have been on feed since October/November, and will have incurred the highest feed costs of the year.

There is little regard for feed costs in the beef industry though, as quotes dropped by 10c/kg again this week. Bullocks are working off a base price of €6.80/kg, with little scope around this for higher quotes. Heifers are coming in at €6.90/kg base price this week.

Taking a look back at last year, base prices jumped 80c/kg from the third week of January to the first week of March.

This year prices have dropped 40c/kg during the same period.

Breed bonuses are also under some pressure, with some agents trying to pay lower bonuses this week.

Most Aberdeen Angus in-spec bullocks and heifers are still receiving a 20c/kg bonus, while Herefords are working off a 15c/kg bonus at the moment.

Cows

R grading cows being priced at €6.50/kg to €6.60/kg, down 10c to 20c/kg on prices quoted two weeks ago. Agents are still anxious for cows though, with a demand coming from the manufacturing trade for cow beef.

U grading cows are now being bought at €6.80/kg, back 10c/kg in the last seven days.

O grading cows are being bought for €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €6.00/kg to €6.20/kg, with some factories quoting lower for very light cows.

The mart trade continues to be very steady, especially for well fleshed heavy cows. A number of cows around the 800kg mark continued to sell for over €3,000/head in marts this week, which would be over and above factory returns for the same animals in a factory.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.00/kg and U grading bulls at €7.10/kg.

O grading bulls are working off an all-in price of €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg, while P grading bulls are being quoted at €6.70/kg to €6.80/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Last week’s kill came in at just over 33,000 head an increase of 500 head on the previous week. The kill is increasing slowly, with last week being the fouth week in a row that numbers have increased.

Within those numbers the bull kill continues to drop, with 2,164 bulls killed last week, a drop of 230 head on the previous week. Both the bullock kill and heifer kill are relatively stable. Last week’s kill was 5,500 head behind the same week in 2025.

Across the water in Britain, beef quotes are under continued pressure, with quotes dropping another 3-5p/kg in the last seven days.

Prime cattle are hovering around the £6.30/kg (€7.59/kg incl VAT), with talks of a further cut to quotes for next week.

Reduced consumer demand due to high prices and pressure from cheaper imports are both said to be driving the pressure on quotes.

IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said: “Demand for beef in our key export markets is strong and rising. The latest prime export benchmark price has continued to rise, and now sits 17c/kg ahead of the prime Irish composite price.

“Cattle supplies are tight and are projected to fall by a further 4% or 30,000 to 40,000 head this year, leaving no additional cattle available to factories for slaughter.

"This trend is replicated across our key export markets, where supplies are forecast to be below 2025 levels.”