It’s been a bright start to the 2024 beef trade, with most processors starting off on a positive note this week and continuing the trend of the last number of weeks.

Factories are still very anxious for cattle, with no Christmas overhang of stock being reported within the industry.

Bullocks are generally working off €5.00/kg, with heifers now moving up to €5.10/kg in most plants, with €5.15/kg base price going in some.

Some factories are working off lower quotes, but all are paying more when pressed and farmers are advised to sell hard. Flat deals of €5.50/kg are still available for in-spec Aberdeen Angus heifers.

Bull trade

The bull trade also remains solid, with €5.20/kg being paid for U grading under-24-month bulls this week in some locations.

R grading bulls are being quoted at €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg, with a little more going to regular suppliers and those with numbers.

O and P grading bulls are trading at 5c/kg to 10c/kg less than this. Under-16-month bulls are generally working off base prices of €5.00/kg to €5.05/kg.

Cow prices

Well-fleshed P+3 cows continue to trade at €4.00/kg to €4.10/kg, depending on weight and quality.

O grading cows are working off €4.20/kg to €4.30/kg depending on the processor, while good R grading cows are coming in at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg.

U grading cows are being quoted at €4.40/kg to €4.50/kg.

The final kill figures for 2023 show that the national kill ended up reducing by 41,162 head on the previous year.

The big movers were the young bull kill reducing by 15,772 and the bullock kill reducing by almost 20,000 head at 19,295 fewer than 2022.

The older bull category was back by just 251 head in 2023. The heifer kill also saw a reduction of 10,705 head.

The cow kill moved in the opposite direction with an extra 4,861 cows killed in 2023 compared with 2022.

Calf slaughterings also went up in 2023 to 30,776 head, an increase of 2,388 head.

Bord Bia is forecasting a further reduction in the national kill in 2024, with current estimates standing at up to 30,000 fewer cattle being slaughtered in 2024.

European prices

The Irish price for R3 bullocks has been below the European young bull price since mid-June 2023, but has climbed back to within 11c/kg of the European price in recent weeks.

The Bord Bia price tracker has also closed the gap, with the current differential on the prime Irish composite price versus that of our main markets standing at 10c/kg. This stood at over 30c/kg during the summer and autumn of 2023.

U3 young bulls in France have moved to €5.65/kg in recent weeks, with R3 heifers in Italy also moving up to €6.11 on the back of short supply and big demand.

Meanwhile, British beef prices continue to perform very well, with R4L bullocks currently trading at £4.97/kg (€6.03/kg incl VAT).

Supplies of finished cattle continue to be very tight across the water, with the latest British Cattle Movement Service figures showing a reduction of over 50,000 head in cattle aged up to six months.

NI comment

The 2024 beef trade is off to a bright start in NI, with quotes rising to 458p/kg (€5.54/kg inc VAT) for U-3 animals.

Supplies are on the tight side, leading factory agents to become more flexible on price.

Deals open on 474p/kg (€5.74/kg), but 478p to 480p/kg (€5.79/kg to €5.81/kg) is common place for regular finishers with in-spec animals.

Cull cows are stuck on a base of 326p/kg (€3.94/kg) for R3 animals, but that is well short of the 340p to 350p/kg (€4.12 to €4.24/kg) on offer.