The beef trade has gotten off to a sticky start for the first full week’s trading of 2026.

Most of this week’s kill was purchased at the end of last week and while there are still bullocks being killed at €7.10/kg base price and heifers bought at €7.20/kg base price, all processors have dropped this week’s quotes by another 10c/kg.

Bullocks are working off a base price of €7/kg, with heifers working off a base price of €7.10/kg in the main.

ADVERTISEMENT

As always, there is as much as 20c/kg more being paid to regular suppliers and to farmers killing big numbers of cattle.

There appears to be more money available the further north you go this week, with southern factories adopting a take-it-or-leave-it approach when it comes to purchasing this week’s supplies.

Cow trade

The cow trade has also eased a little, with R grading cows now being priced at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg.

U grading cows are still trading at €7/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.

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 coming in 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/kg to €7.10/kg base price to go on the grid.

UK pressure

Beef consumption remains under pressure in the UK, with the latest retail supermarket purchasing data from Worldpanel by Numerator for the 12 weeks prior to 30 November 2025 pointing to a 7.1% decline in beef volumes purchased.

Steaks saw an 8.4% drop in volume and roasts saw a 13.9% drop in volume purchased.

Stewing beef was the only beef category to record a rise being up 2.5% year on year. Ready-to-cook meals also saw growth during the 12-week period.