Finished cattle numbers for the second half of the year will be down 7% to 8%, Bord Bia projects.

The forecast will bolster hopes that red-hot beef prices will continue to rise for the rest of the year.

The fall-off in supplies is due to a combination of reduced store cattle numbers and an increase in the kill for the first four months of the year.

Bord Bia forecasts a 5% reduction in prime cattle numbers for 2025 as a whole, but predicts that supplies will tighten further during the back end.

“Bord Bia projections are that cattle supplies will reduce by 70,000 to 90,000 head this year, based around the latest AIM [Animal Identification and Movement] figures,” a spokesperson for Bord Bia said.

“We project an overall 5% decline in the supply of prime cattle for the year and, with current supply levels, that could indicate a 7% to 8% decline for the second half of the year,” the spokesperson added.

However, beef sector insiders maintain that the prime cattle kill for the remainder of year could fall by up to 100,000 head.

They point out that the prime cattle kill is running 25,000 head up on last year, while numbers are forecast to be down by 70,000 to 75,000 head.

This is a 100,000-head swing in supplies, or around 3,300 head per week, for the remainder of the year.