After a six-week period of sustained cuts to beef quotes, the beef trade is finally starting to show signs of steadying up this week.

Some processors have held quotes at where last week’s quotes were, with a more positive outlook for the next few weeks now starting to emerge.

Not all processors held quotes and one dropped another 10c/kg, but that leaves all of the big players now working off a €6.60/kg base price for bullocks and a €6.70/kg base price for heifers.

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Larger suppliers and regular customers have even been able to squeeze a little more for next week’s kill, but these are in isolation.

The delays in getting cattle killed have also all but disappeared, with agents back actively looking for finished cattle again, with some also getting very active in marts in the last seven days.

Irish Hereford Prime announced a new partnership with ABP which will deliver a 20c/kg bonus to in-spec Hereford cattle, provided other conditions are also met on the finishing farm. The standard 10c/kg bonus will still be available in Kepak factories.

There is still some confusion around the Aberdeen Angus bonus and its availability in some factories. Some processors are still working off a 20c/kg premium, provided conditions are met.

Flat prices of up to €7/kg are on the table this week for in-spec Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers.

Cows

R grading cows are being priced at €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg. U grading cows are now being bought at €6.70/kg.

O grading cows are being bought for €6.10/kg to €6.20/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €6.00/kg to €6.10/kg, with some factories quoting lower for very light cows.

Bulls

R grading bulls are coming in at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg and U grading bulls are being quoted at €7.00/kg, although bulls are in short supply, with low numbers being killed.

There are a number of operators still able to squeeze €7/kg for mixtures of R and U grading bulls.

O grading bulls are working off an all-in price of €6.50/kg to €6.70/kg, while P grading bulls are being quoted at €6.40/kg to €6.50/kg, depending on weight and flesh cover.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a €6.70/kg base price on the grid. Farmers killing stock bulls are getting up to €5/kg for heavy well-fleshed stock bulls.

Last week’s kill came in at just over 32,000 head, a slight rise on the previous week, but still over 4,000 head behind the same week in 2025.

There is now just over 68,000 less cattle killed in 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

There is expected to be some recovery in numbers in the second half of the year, but numbers are likely to stay well behind 2025 for much of 2026.

Beef markets

Farmers attending Monday night’s Irish Farmers Journal beef markets meeting covered on pages 4 and 5 of this week’s paper came away with the message to sell hard in the next few weeks.

Bord Bia’s Joe Burke was also more positive in relation to the trade in the short term and he pointed to better weather being a factor in shifting more steak cuts in the coming weeks.

There was a general consensus on the night that the trade had bottomed out and that tighter supplies in the next few weeks should help to lift quotes.

IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said: “There is no justification in the marketplace for any weakening of prices, which is putting further pressure on producers who already operate on very low margins.

“Farmers should not be misled by the negativity from factories. Markets are strong, supplies are tight and there is huge capacity for increases.”