There has been a remarkable increase in the local beef trade in the last two weeks, with 30 to 50p/kg added on to base quotes for U-3 grades.

The best quotes are now around the 570p/kg mark, although much more is being paid to regular finishers, with reports of starting prices around 586 to 590p/kg for U-3 grades. It looks inevitable that the 600p/kg mark will be breached in the coming days.

The trade in Britain is also surging on, with prices paid last week for U-3 grades of over 630p/kg and reports that 650 to 660p/kg is available this week.

That gap in prices suggests there is significant scope for NI factories to pay more for cattle.

It is also encouraging some producers to look at exporting cattle to Britain for direct slaughter. Last week, 119 head were shipped from NI, which is the highest weekly total since August 2018. Given how tight numbers are in NI, these are cattle that factories do not want to lose.

Cow trade

It is a similar situation in the cow trade, with the quotes up another 10p/kg to a top of 470p/kg mark for R grades. However, much more is available for young suckler types, with prices paid around 490p/kg and the expectation that the 500p/kg mark is close to being breached.