Last week’s beef kill recorded an increase of 5,441 head. Throughput in the previous week had fallen 4,369 head with one day’s less processing for the bank holiday. The scale of this reduction was driven more by tighter supplies rather than factories being limited in the numbers they can handle.
Last week’s recovery in throughput was underpinned by increased activity by factory agents and a slight loosening in the purse strings to entice higher numbers out.
Steers moved to a base of €3.80/kg in a lot of cases, with heifers rising to a base of €3.90/kg. Some plants continue to try to quell expectations by offering an opening quote in negotiation for small numbers at €3.75/kg and €3.85/kg for steers and heifers respectively.
The effort in sourcing extra numbers had both positives and negatives for agents – it sorted out last week’s growing appetite for beef, but exhausted some avenues for stock for the end of last week and start of this week. This has led to agents stepping up activity another notch and contacting feeders on their books to see if they have any cattle coming fit for slaughter.
These frequent sellers or producers handling higher numbers are in a stronger negotiating position and have secured a base of €3.92/kg to €3.95/kg for heifers, while there has also been reports of 2c/kg to 5c/kg higher paid at the top of the market for steers.
Some sellers with high numbers of heifers are said to be holding out for a higher base of €4.00/kg.
Demand for beef at processor level is being driven by strong sales both within the Eurozone and further afield, with demand for manufacturing beef remaining vibrant. This is occurring at the same time as factories are trying to fill orders for Christmas.
The lift in factory appetite for cattle is also being reflected in buyers becoming much more active in mart sales. This is particularly the case for fleshed cows, with heavy U grading cows selling from €1.70/kg to €1.90/kg and rising in cases to €2/kg and over.
U grading cows in factories are selling from a range of €3.50/kg to €3.70/kg, with regular sellers looked after in cow-specialist plants. R grades are selling from €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg in general, with 5c/kg higher paid in cases, while fleshed O grading cows are trading from €3.25/kg to €3.40/kg. Numbers are also influencing prices paid for P+3 grading cows, with prices ranging from €3.05/kg to €3.20/kg.
Bull prices have also strengthened, with factories leveraging higher numbers from feeders by the offer of 5c/kg higher prices. Prices for R and U grades are typically €3.85/kg and €3.95/kg, with sellers handling large numbers and with strong factory links securing 5c/kg higher.
Northern trade
There is also more life entering the trade in the North. Base quotes for U-3 steers and heifers remain at £3.52/kg to £3.54, which at 89.9p to the euro equates to €3.91/kg to €3.93/kg, or €4.12/kg to €4.15/kg including VAT at 5.4%.
Regular sellers handling large numbers are securing 4p/kg to 8p/kg higher, which is reflected in last week’s average U-3 price recorded at £3.58/kg and £3.60/kg (€4.22/kg).
The AHDB reports continued recovery in British prices driven by demand for in-spec stock for Christmas. R4L steers increased by an average of 1.3p/kg to £3.77/kg (€4.42/kg incl VAT), with R4L heifers increasing by 0.7p/kg to £3.73 (€4.37/kg incl VAT). O4L cows reduced on price by 0.5p/kg on average to £2.60/kg (€3.05/kg), with the latest cow throughput increasing from 11,586 to 12,536 head.
Read more
Quotes hold at 354p/kg but deals on offer
Mart trade: numbers dropping but quality cattle still in demand
Download the Irish Farmers Journal news app today and get the latest prices for all grades and all factories through the built-in Livestock Tool.
Last week’s beef kill recorded an increase of 5,441 head. Throughput in the previous week had fallen 4,369 head with one day’s less processing for the bank holiday. The scale of this reduction was driven more by tighter supplies rather than factories being limited in the numbers they can handle.
Last week’s recovery in throughput was underpinned by increased activity by factory agents and a slight loosening in the purse strings to entice higher numbers out.
Steers moved to a base of €3.80/kg in a lot of cases, with heifers rising to a base of €3.90/kg. Some plants continue to try to quell expectations by offering an opening quote in negotiation for small numbers at €3.75/kg and €3.85/kg for steers and heifers respectively.
The effort in sourcing extra numbers had both positives and negatives for agents – it sorted out last week’s growing appetite for beef, but exhausted some avenues for stock for the end of last week and start of this week. This has led to agents stepping up activity another notch and contacting feeders on their books to see if they have any cattle coming fit for slaughter.
These frequent sellers or producers handling higher numbers are in a stronger negotiating position and have secured a base of €3.92/kg to €3.95/kg for heifers, while there has also been reports of 2c/kg to 5c/kg higher paid at the top of the market for steers.
Some sellers with high numbers of heifers are said to be holding out for a higher base of €4.00/kg.
Demand for beef at processor level is being driven by strong sales both within the Eurozone and further afield, with demand for manufacturing beef remaining vibrant. This is occurring at the same time as factories are trying to fill orders for Christmas.
The lift in factory appetite for cattle is also being reflected in buyers becoming much more active in mart sales. This is particularly the case for fleshed cows, with heavy U grading cows selling from €1.70/kg to €1.90/kg and rising in cases to €2/kg and over.
U grading cows in factories are selling from a range of €3.50/kg to €3.70/kg, with regular sellers looked after in cow-specialist plants. R grades are selling from €3.45/kg to €3.55/kg in general, with 5c/kg higher paid in cases, while fleshed O grading cows are trading from €3.25/kg to €3.40/kg. Numbers are also influencing prices paid for P+3 grading cows, with prices ranging from €3.05/kg to €3.20/kg.
Bull prices have also strengthened, with factories leveraging higher numbers from feeders by the offer of 5c/kg higher prices. Prices for R and U grades are typically €3.85/kg and €3.95/kg, with sellers handling large numbers and with strong factory links securing 5c/kg higher.
Northern trade
There is also more life entering the trade in the North. Base quotes for U-3 steers and heifers remain at £3.52/kg to £3.54, which at 89.9p to the euro equates to €3.91/kg to €3.93/kg, or €4.12/kg to €4.15/kg including VAT at 5.4%.
Regular sellers handling large numbers are securing 4p/kg to 8p/kg higher, which is reflected in last week’s average U-3 price recorded at £3.58/kg and £3.60/kg (€4.22/kg).
The AHDB reports continued recovery in British prices driven by demand for in-spec stock for Christmas. R4L steers increased by an average of 1.3p/kg to £3.77/kg (€4.42/kg incl VAT), with R4L heifers increasing by 0.7p/kg to £3.73 (€4.37/kg incl VAT). O4L cows reduced on price by 0.5p/kg on average to £2.60/kg (€3.05/kg), with the latest cow throughput increasing from 11,586 to 12,536 head.
Read more
Quotes hold at 354p/kg but deals on offer
Mart trade: numbers dropping but quality cattle still in demand
Download the Irish Farmers Journal news app today and get the latest prices for all grades and all factories through the built-in Livestock Tool.
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