The beef trade is still in a steady position this week, with quotes pretty much unchanged from last week.

Factory agents are still anxious for stock, with some pointing to tighter supplies coming in the next two or three weeks.

They are currently shifting some stock ahead to try to meet that lull in supplies.

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Bullocks are working off a base price of €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, with €7.10/kg becoming more available from more factories each week.

Heifers are also working off a similar price to the previous week, with €7.20/kg base price available at the top of the market and €7.10/kg base price available at the lower end.

Bonuses

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

Foyle Meats in Donegal continues to pay a 10c/kg bonus on heifers and bullocks killing out between 300kg and 400kg.

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.

There was a thought that the banning of exporting of forward store animals would mean cheaper stores for ROI finishers, but, if anything, that trade has kicked on in the last week with southern-based finishers very strong around the ring.

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.

Speaking to some winter finishers this week, frustration is building with factories’ inability to kick on with the beef price.

Some winter finishers I spoke to this week reckon they are losing €200/head on cattle purchased in October at the peak of the store trade.

They argue that it’s completely unacceptable given the level of money they have invested buying store animals at over €2,500/head.

Slaughter numbers

Last week’s kill came in at 30,438, a 500 head drop on the week before.

After a few strong weeks, the bull kill dropped 500 head but is still coming in at 3,000, a similar figure to the same week in 2025.

Last week’s bullock kill went up by about 800, with both the heifer and cow kill dropping by approximately 300 head.

Last week’s kill is running close to 5,000 head behind the same week in 2025, with the total kill for 2026 now siting at 176,480, over 30,000 behind the same week in 2025.

Supplies are expected to remain very tight for the first six months of 2026, with a very slight recovery in numbers expected for the second half of 2026.

NI prices

Prices are steady in Northern Ireland (NI), with quotes unchanged from last week.

U3 animals are working off £6.46/kg to £6.50/kg (€7.76/kg to €7.80/kg including VAT).

Supplies have remained tight across the border, although some reports from weekend sales would suggest that heavier cattle have eased a little in recent days.

Across the water, the trade has eased, with heifer and bullock quotes coming in around £6.35/kg to £6.40/kg (€7.62/kg to €7.69/kg incl VAT).

This puts the NI price in the unusual position of actually being ahead of the UK price.