The finished cattle trade remains steady with demand best for in spec cattle, according to Bord Bia.
This is despite the trade being reported as slow across our key export markets.
IFA beef price update
- Steer base €3.90/kg – €3.95/kg.
- Heifers €4.00/kg- €4.05/kg. Tops €4.10 paid.
- Bulls R/U €3.80/kg – €3.90/kg.
- Cows €3.10/kg – €3.60/kg.
Cattle supplies at Irish export meat plants for the week ending January 16 stood at over 32,000 head, which was 2% higher than the equivalent week in 2015.
According to Bord Bia, in general, steers were purchased at an average base price of between €3.90/kg and €3.95/kg on the Quality Payment System.
The base price payable for heifers was typically making between €4.00/kg and €4.05/kg with small quantities generating more.
These prices exclude the 12c/kg bonus payable on in-spec QA animals.
Prices paid for O grade cull cows were mostly in the range between €3.05/kg and €3.20/kg.
Britain
In Britain, reported cattle prices from the AHDB have eased with GB R4L grade steers averaging at 342.7 p/kg (equivalent to 451.67c/kg) for the week ended January 15. Bord Bia says the trade was reported as sluggish with demand best for fillets.
France
In France, Bord Bia said the trade remains slow with poor demand reported particularly for steak cuts such as entrecotes and cow hindquarters. Demand also decreased for fillets while increased volumes of competitively priced imported product has seen increased competition on the market.
The R3 young bull price was on average down 1c making €3.75/kg while the O3 cow price was up 1c making €3.00/kg.
Italy
In Italy, Bord Bia says some uplift in the trade was reported while it is hoped that upcoming retail promotions will help the market. It says the R3 young bull price was down 10c averaging at €3.80/kg while the O3 cow price was down 6c to €2.40/kg.