After a sluggish first week’s trading, the second week of 2026 is showing more promise in terms of positive price movement in the beef trade. Some processors have had to increase quotes by 10c/kg this week in order to get cattle.
Base prices for bullocks are ranging from €7-€7.10/kg, with heifers coming in at €7.10-€7.20/kg. Factory agents are very active in marts around the country, with the equivalent of €8/kg and over it being paid for finished cattle this week.
There was a thought in factory circles that there would have been ample supplies of finished cattle coming on stream until the end of January, but this hasn’t materialised with factory agents on the phones this week looking for cattle. Last week’s kill came in at just over 31,000 head, similar to the same week in 2025 – with no big flush of cattle expected anytime soon.
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The latest consumption data from the UK makes for sobering reading, with overall beef purchases down 6.6% in the 12 weeks up to 28th December 2025.
This was driven by price increases of 17.5% during the same period. Roasting joints performed well in the run up to Christmas, down 2%, with mince sales down just over 10% when compared with the same period in 2024.
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After a sluggish first week’s trading, the second week of 2026 is showing more promise in terms of positive price movement in the beef trade. Some processors have had to increase quotes by 10c/kg this week in order to get cattle.
Base prices for bullocks are ranging from €7-€7.10/kg, with heifers coming in at €7.10-€7.20/kg. Factory agents are very active in marts around the country, with the equivalent of €8/kg and over it being paid for finished cattle this week.
There was a thought in factory circles that there would have been ample supplies of finished cattle coming on stream until the end of January, but this hasn’t materialised with factory agents on the phones this week looking for cattle. Last week’s kill came in at just over 31,000 head, similar to the same week in 2025 – with no big flush of cattle expected anytime soon.
The latest consumption data from the UK makes for sobering reading, with overall beef purchases down 6.6% in the 12 weeks up to 28th December 2025.
This was driven by price increases of 17.5% during the same period. Roasting joints performed well in the run up to Christmas, down 2%, with mince sales down just over 10% when compared with the same period in 2024.
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