Martbids Database: weanlings heading for €5/kg

I’m running out of positive words to describe the mart trade at the moment - on fire, booming, rocketing and unreal have made it into several mart reports in the last few weeks.

It’s a good complaint to have, as I was often looking for words on the other end of the spectrum to describe the cattle trade, but, hopefully, we won’t be back there again.

I could have pushed the boat out (pun intended) on this week’s headline to €6/kg, with shippers paying exceptional money for weanlings for export.

A number of showdowns took place between rival shippers and this drove on the trade in a few marts this week.

Speaking to mart managers, farmer confidence and feedlot confidence has strengthened in the last two weeks with many of these customers now taking out shippers.

A rising beef price is adding fuel to the trade, with big numbers of heavy bullocks and heifers still being sought after by factory agents.

Dry cows are also in demand, with prices pushed to €4/kg again this week for some top-quality cows. Factory numbers remain very tight, with agents under pressure to get numbers in marts.

The calf trade has maintained its positive start, with a lot more farmer interest reported this week. As one cattle buyer said to me this week: “A lot of the calves are being knocked down to buyers up on the steps and that’s where the farmers usually are.”

Export-type calves are up €60 to €80/head on last year, with good-quality beef-crosses trading over €100/head higher than last year.

Live exports are up 35% on 2024 levels for the first eight weeks of 2025. This is being driven by large amounts of weanlings being exported on a weekly basis. There have been 9,425 weanlings exported up until 22 February 2025, almost double the amount for the same period in 2024.

Store cattle exports are also up 500 head. Calves are on a par with 2024 levels, with 8,284 calves exported so far in 2025.

Stand-out countries have been Italy and Spain, with 3,846 head exported to Italy so far in 2025, up from 2,407 in the same period in 2024.

The Spanish market is also taking huge numbers of cattle, with 11,079 cattle exported to Spain in 2025, up from 4,646 in the same period in 2024.

Finished cattle exports have also taken a jump, with 10,795 head exported so far in 2025, up from 7,544, the majority of which have been exported to Northern Ireland for direct slaughter or further feeding.

Taking a look at this week’s Martbids analysis table, we see that it was another very positive week for the cattle trade, with the table dominated by green arrows - always a good sign of the trade.

In the bullock rings, it was the lighter bullocks which performed best this week, with top-quality bullocks in the 350kg to 400kg weight bracket coming in at €4.08/kg, up 25c/kg on the previous week.

The weanling bull rings was where the standout action was this week, with top-quality heavy weanling bulls in the 450kg-plus weight bracket coming in at €4.61/kg, up 31c/kg on the previous week.

Average weanling bulls are now hitting €4/kg in many marts.

The weanling heifer trade also had a good week, with top-quality heavy weanling heifers in the 400kg to 450kg weight bracket coming in at €4.39/kg, up 31c/kg on the previous week.