Beef quotes have remained unchanged for another week, with factories still actively looking for cattle.

There are reports of more cattle being available in the southern counties over the last seven to 10 days, with finished cattle a little harder to come by the further north you go.

Bullock base quotes are ranging from €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, with heifer base quotes working off base quotes of €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg.

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Cow trade

The cow trade is also steady, with R grading cows being priced at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg.

U grading cows are still trading at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, while O grading cows are being bought for €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg.

P+3 cows are back a little further, with some factories trying to purchase P+3 cows at €6.20/kg to €6.30/kg.

Factory agents have been back paying some exceptional prices for well-fleshed, heavy cows, with up to €4.60/kg liveweight being paid for some cows in marts this week.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.25/kg and U grading bulls at €7.40/kg.

Specialised bull finishers have been able to squeeze a little more out of some processors. Under-16-month bulls are working off a €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg base price to go on the grid.

There are some reports from within the sector that striploins and higher-end steak cuts have been harder to shift over the last few weeks, with manufacturing beef and mince dominating orders.

The steak pressure is another factor of higher retail beef prices.