The attempt by factories to drop prices to €7.40/kg for steers and €7.50/kg for heifers this week has created a standoff with farmers, as very few are willing to sell at this price.

Several factories are working their way through cattle bought at higher prices a couple of weeks ago.

While factories may be getting enough cattle to do for the moment, there is no doubt that this pool of cattle and shed-finished cattle are dwindling.

This puts the farmer-factory balance of power on a tight rope, as the beef kill in recent weeks has fallen by 2,000 to 2,200 head.

Factories would also say that steak meat demand isn’t as strong as it was previously and that there is also a close watch being kept on consumer demand as UK supermarkets have increased retail prices.

They also say that outside the customers that buy exclusively British and Irish beef that the presence of imported beef is being felt in the wider wholesale market.

Whatever about factory prices at present, mart prices for strong cattle remains exceptionally strong and there has been no slackening of prices paid for cows in the marts either.

Live cattle exports are also running ahead of last year, with 160,991 head exported up to week ending 12 April, according to Bord Bia.

This is 33,000 cattle more than were exported for the same period in 2024, a 21% increase.

Britain

While the rate of factory price increases in Britain has slowed down, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) data shows that the price paid for all classes of factory cattle recorded an increase again week ending 26 April.

The average overall steer price increased by 1.9p/kg (2.2c/kg) to 702.6p/kg, the equivalent of €8.26/kg excluding vat. The average overall heifer price was £7/kg (€8.23/kg), while young bull average price in Britain was £6.90/kg (€8.12/kg), up 1.9p/kg or 2.2c/kg from last week.

Cow prices were up a very healthy 4.4p/kg (5.2c/kg) to an average of £5.32/kg (€6.26/kg) across all cows processed in factories in Britain.

IFA reaction

Irish Farmers’ Association livestock chair Declan Hanrahan said: “Farmers should not be misled by the unjustified negativity from factories and their agents.”

“The behaviour of factories is irresponsible, unnecessary and risks undermining a strong beef market in the UK and must stop.”

Prices

While many factories are quoting €7.40/kg for steers and €7.50/kg for heifers, agents report that it is taking at least 10c/kg more to close deals at prices of €7.50/kg steers and €7.60/kg for heifers.

Flat-rate buying is less common than it was a few weeks ago, with many factories attempting to get back on the grid or a variation of it, with some flexibility between the grades.

The cow trade has continued strongly in recent weeks, with less pressure on prices for steers and heifers.

Top-of-the-range U grading cows are making steer prices up to €7.50/kg, while R grading suckler-bred cows will get €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg.

There is also strong demand for the more typical O grading cows, with factories paying anywhere from €6.80/kg for dairy cows up to €7.10/kg for O grading cows with suckler breeding in them.

The mart trade continues to be particularly strong for cows at the moment.

Young bulls are trading between €7.70/kg and €7.80/kg for U and R grades, while R grading bulls are around €7.30/kg to €7.40/kg and O grades at €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg.

Northern Ireland base quotes supplied by LMC remained steady this week at between £6.50/kg and £6.68/kg, the equivalent of €7.65/kg to €7.86/kg (ex-vat) for U-3 steers and heifers.