Foyle Meats has been the first factory to break the current beef price deadlock and start moving quotes in a different direction than the industry has been moving in for the last number of weeks.

It has moved base quotes to €4.65/kg for bullocks and €4.70/kg for heifers. Those quotes exclude any carcase, breed or in-spec bonuses.

Foyle is currently paying a 10c/kg bonus on carcases killing out between 300kg and 400kg deadweight.

The Christmas trade is now top of the list of priorities for beef processors as they switch to filling prime cattle orders over the next six weeks.

While it may seem early, much of the Christmas demand happens in early December and some of the dry aged products which have been gaining in popularity in recent years have a 35-day ageing process, so animals killed this week would be on the shelf on the first week of December.

General quotes

The general run of quotes hasn’t changed a lot this week, with bullocks working off €4.50/kg to €4.55/kg and heifers working off €4.55/kg to €4.60/kg.

Retail demand remains high for Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle, with supermarket appetite good for prime quality assured cattle.

Bonuses remain from 10c to 20c/kg in most factories for suitable quality assured Hereford and Aberdeen Angus cattle.

While the last few weeks have seen factories cut quotes at every opportunity, there is hope on the horizon for some optimism.

It's baldy needed, with winter finishers staring at big store cattle bills and even bigger meal bills.

Cows

The cow trade remains under pressure, with some factories dropping quotes to €3.90/kg this week for P grading cows.

O grading cows are working off €4.10/kg to €4.20/kg, with R grading cows coming in at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg.

Some factories specialising in cows are applying 5c to 10c/kg more, especially for good-quality young cows.

These is some talk in the trade about a World Cup bounce for the manufacturing trade when the tournament starts in November.

While the tournament takes place in Qatar, it’s expected that a lot of gatherings will take place across the UK, with the pub food trade expected to benefit strongly from one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

The bull trade remains in a similar position this week, with R and U grading bulls working off €4.50/kg to €4.60/kg. O and P grading bulls are back at €4.30/kg to €4.40/kg.