Ireland has risen to fifth on the European Commission’s latest beef price league table.
The table which is based on the R3 heifer price showed that in the week ending January 11 the Irish price was 399.8c/kg, up 9.9c/kg from the December when the R3 heifer price was 389.9c/kg.
According to analysis from the LMC this 2.5% increase in the Irish R3 heifer price put it 5c/kg above the EU average in the week ending January 11.
It also says in the week ending December 14 the R3 heifer price in Ireland had been 2.2c/kg lower than the equivalent price in the EU.
The increase in the R3 heifer price in ROI over the four week period moved it up from eighth position in the league table to fifth position.
For the week ending January 11 the average R3 heifer price in the EU was 394.8c/kg, up 2.7c/kg from 392.1c/kg in the week ending December 14.
The value of euro against sterling was down slightly over the same period to €1= 78.20p in the week ending January 11.
The LMC says with the value of the euro against sterling continuing to come under pressure in recent weeks British and Northern Ireland beef will be more expensive than beef from other eurozone countries.
It says this makes UK beef less competitive on markets beyond Britain but with some major retailers in the UK willing to accept Irish origin beef as an alternative it may also have some implications on markets within the UK.
