IFA livestock chair Declan Hanrahan has said the gamesmanship by factories on beef price is unacceptable and must stop.

He said market conditions are favourable, with no justification for the negative propaganda coming from factories and their agents.

“Farmers should reject the unfounded negativity on beef price. Demand is strong and will only increase as supplies tighten here and in our key markets.

“Despite attempting to offer lower quotes, when pushed factories are freely paying an extra 10 to 15c/kg to secure cattle to fill lucrative contracts,” he said.

Supplies of beef in the UK and EU are tight, contributing to beef prices in these destinations remaining steady and strong. This provides real opportunity for factories to maximise returns to farmers, he maintained.

The Prime EU Benchmark Price compiled by Bord Bia has increased by 10c/kg over the past two weeks, clearly highlighting the demand for beef in this key destination.

The IFA livestock chair said the UK market continues to perform strongly, with prices over 50c/kg above Ireland’s.

Live exports

Hanrahan said the strong performance of live exports for stores and finished cattle will also severely impact on supplies available to factories.

Exports are up over 7,000 head to-date, or 43% and 37% respectively, for these categories with NI alone taking almost 17,000 cattle to-date. This is an increase of 6% on last year and is predicted to remain a very strong outlet for the year.

“Demand is strong and will only increase as supplies tighten here and in our key markets. Despite attempting to offer lower quotes, when pushed factories are freely paying an extra 10c-15c/kg to secure cattle to fill lucrative contracts,” he said.

He said farmers are currently selling very expensive cattle from sheds and factories must return the full value of the market to farmers in higher beef prices.