Beef Trends: quotes up another 10c to 15c/kg

The beef trade remains in a very positive position this week, with quotes up another 10c to 15c/kg in most locations.

This week’s price rise is on the back of factories gearing up for the Easter trade against a backdrop of a falling weekly beef kill.

Last week’s kill came in 800 head short of the previous week, with this week’s kill also being greatly reduced in numbers due to the St Patrick’s Day bank holiday.

Factory agents remain very active for cattle in marts, with anything with flesh being hoovered up by factories.

Bullocks are being quoted at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, which is available in almost all locations this week.

Heifers have moved up to a €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg base price, depending on the location, with €7.30/kg achievable in some processors this week.

The increase in base prices over the last few weeks has also lifted flat prices, with €7.60/kg to €7.70/kg being paid for both Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers this week.

Flat prices are the new norm, with a lot of factories now buying all types of cattle on a flat-rate basis.

Quotes are moving by the day in some instances and farmers are advised to make sure to price around when selling cattle.

All sorts of deals are currently being done, with leeway on movements, age, weight and many factories are now paying for haulage to guarantee the cattle will end up in their lairage.

Cows

Cows continue to move in a positive direction, with €6.90/kg now on the table for well-fleshed R grading cows in the south of the country and €7.00/kg where bigger numbers are involved.

U grading cows are up to €7.00/kg to €7.20/kg, with O grading suckler cows making their way up to €6.55/kg to €6.60/kg in some factories.

O grading dairy cows are being quoted at €6.40/kg to €6.55/kg. P+3 cows are working off €6.25-€6.35/kg, depending on weight, age, flesh and numbers, with €6.35/kg paid to large feeders.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are still working off €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg for U grading bulls and higher where larger numbers are involved.

Flat prices of as high as €7.40/kg have been paid to some larger suppliers for mixes of U and R grading bulls.

R grading bulls are at €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg, while O grading bulls are being bought at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a base price of €6.90/kg to €7.00/kg before any QA bonus or grid payments are added.

Last week’s kill came in at 37,281, back 800 head on the previous week. Much of this fall came in the heifer category, which came in at 11,709 last week, down from 12,274 the previous week.

The 2025 kill is currently running ahead of the 2024 kill to the tune of just under 11,000 head.

Bord Bia has indicated that this year’s kill is forecast to be down between 80,000 and 90,000 head in 2025, so that’s a big swing to take place for the rest of the year and should help the price when numbers remain tight.

Across the water, the trade continues to improve, with 667p/kg (€8.34/kg incl VAT) on the table for R4L bullocks last week. Prices in Scotland are running about 10p/kg head of the British price.

The tops reported in the British market last week included 677p/kg (€8.47/kg incl VAT) in southern Britain.

Northern Ireland

Tight supplies north of the border have resulted in base quotes rising 10p to 15p/kg on last week to 640p to 645p/kg (€8.00/kg to €8.07/kg) for U3 animals.

Deals have also been done for larger finishers above these quotes for full loads of bullocks and heifers. Good-quality cows are coming in at 530p/kg (€6.63/kg incl VAT).