Factories have moved this week to apply pressure to the beef trade this week, dropping quotes by 10c/kg.

Bullocks are working off a base price of €7.40/kg in the main this week. There are some bullocks still moving at €7.50/kg based on deals done last week.

Heifers are generally being bought at €7.50/kg base price this week. Again, there are heifers being bought at €7.60/kg and even €7.70/kg base price this week, but all heifers are expected to be back at €7.50/kg for next week, with some factories indicating a base quote of €7.40/kg for heifers and bullocks next week.

Breed premium bonuses have also come under pressure, with some factories reducing the Aberdeen Angus bonus they were paying from 30c/kg to 20c/kg this week.

Some processors are hinting at more reductions next week, but tighter supplies could help to stabilise prices.

There are very few grass cattle ready for slaughter, along with shed cattle almost completely gone at this stage aside from the big factory-aligned feeders.

Cows

R grading cows are generally trading at €7.10/kg to €7.30/kg, while O grading cows are coming in around €6.90/kg to €7.00/kg.

There is a big range in quotes for P grading cows, with those with numbers able to bargain more and up to €6.70/kg to €6.80/kg being paid.

Manufacturing beef sales appear to be bucking the trend when it comes to demand.

Bulls have also seen a slight correction, but €7.70/kg is still available at the top end for U grading bulls, working back to €7.30/kg to €7.35/kg for O grading bulls.

Again, larger feeders have been able to hammer out better deals, with €7.80/kg being paid to a few large bull finishers this week for a mix of under-24-month R and U grading heavy bulls.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a €7.40/kg base, with a little more going where there are numbers involved.

This means U= grading bulls are hitting prices of €7.70/kg when grading and the 12c/kg in-spec bonus is added.

Beef kill

Last week’s kill remained small for the time of year, coming in at 29,145 head, up 350 head on the previous week.

This week’s kill is set to be another very small one, with a bank holiday Monday taken into the equation.

Factories appear very happy to deal with the lower supplies, with some dropping days to suit the lower kill and almost creating an illusion that they have too many cattle and pushing farmers out by five to seven days to get cattle killed.

Last week’s cow kill went up by over 400 head, with reports of some farmers offloading cows a little earlier.

UK

Across the water, the beef price is also under pressure, with quotes dropping a further 10p/kg this week on the back of similar messages to here, that the retail trade is struggling with the higher prices.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is reporting R4L bullocks in Britain coming in at 679p/kg (€8.50/kg incl VAT). That’s down 30p/kg since the first week in May.

Contracting population

The AHDB is also forecasting UK beef production to be back by 4% in 2025, with the UK cow population contracting by 1.5% pointing to lower supplies of prime beef in the future.

The European young bull price remains relatively stable, with the latest Bord Bia figure showing EU young bulls averaging €6.92/kg.

Ireland is currently tracking about 40c/kg ahead of its main markets.

NI comment

Quotes remain under pressure north of the border, coming in at 650p (€8.13/kg incl VAT), with 655p/kg (€8.20/kg incl VAT) being paid to larger suppliers.