After a few weeks of threatening to pull beef quotes, some factories have moved on Monday morning to pull quotes by 10c/kg, with a number of processors dropping bullock quotes to €6.90/kg.

Factories maintain that they have adequate numbers coming on stream, even though last week’s kill is back 7,000 head on the same week in 2025.

The move has frustrated winter finishers who are already looking at losses of between €200 and €300/head on the back of a high autumn 2025 store trade.

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Heifers are in a little more demand, but quotes have also dropped in some locations, with heifers now being bought at €7.00/kg.

That said, there is still €7.10/kg available for heifers in some factories this week, especially where larger numbers of continental heifers are involved.

Breed bonuses of between 15c and 20c/kg are still available for in-spec Aberdeen Angus and Hereford bullocks and heifers.

Cows

The cow trade is also very steady, with R grading cows being priced at €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg.

U grading cows are now being bought at €6.90/kg are also back 10c/kg in the last seven days. O grading cows are being bought for €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg.

P+3 cows are coming in at €6.10/kg to €6.20/kg, with some factories quoting lower for very light cows.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.10/kg and U grading bulls at €7.20/kg.

O grading bulls are working off an all-in price of €6.90/kg to €7.00/kg, while P grading bulls are being quoted at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg depending on weight and flesh cover.

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. Quotes in Northern Ireland remain under a little pressure, with official quotes back 2p/kg last week.