Factory quotes for beef cattle remain high this week as supply tightens, and demand is predicted to become stronger, according to Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) livestock chair, Declan Hanrahan.
Hanrahan said that market conditions are “favourable”, and that factories are “freely paying” an extra 10 to 15c/kg to secure cattle to fill contracts.
“Farmers should reject the unfounded negativity on beef price. Demand is strong and will only increase as supplies tighten here and in our key markets,” Hanrahan said.
Hanrahan added that supplies of beef in the UK and EU are tight, contributing to beef prices in these destinations remaining “steady and strong”.
The Prime EU Benchmark Price compiled by Bord Bia has increased by 10c/kg over the past two weeks, which Hanrahan said highlights the demand for beef.
The IFA livestock chair said that the UK market continues to perform strongly with prices over 50c/kg above Irish prices.
Hanrahan said the “strong” performance of live exports for stores and finished cattle will also severely impact on supplies available to factories.
Latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that there were over 8,000 cattle exported in the first four weeks of 2024.
That represents an increase of 22%, or over 1,500 head on the 6,892 head of cattle exported in the first four weeks of 2023, but down 5% on the 8,828 head of cattle exported in the first four weeks of 2022.
Hanrahan said that live exports for stores and finished cattle in Northern Ireland are likely to remain strong this year.
He said Northern Ireland took almost 17,000 cattle in those categories to-date.
He added that farmers are currently selling expensive cattle from sheds and that factories “must return the full value of the market” to farmers in higher beef prices.