After a few weeks of price cuts, beef prices appear to have stabilised, as supplies of factory fit cattle are beginning to get tighter.
In the week ending Sunday, March 10, the average price paid for R=3= grade steers stood at €5.33/kg.
In the first week of February, the average price paid for the same spec of steer stood at €5.39/kg, according to Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) figures.
The graph below shows the average price paid for R=3= grade steers over the past 12 weeks:
While prices have began to stabilise, weekly supplies have started to drop off after a general increasing trend in the first two months of the year.
Finished cattle numbers are expected to tighten further towards the end of March and into second quarter of the year.
Most processors will be operating four-day kills for the next three weeks as a result of the St. Patrick’s Day bank holiday, Good Friday and Easter Monday all coming in the next three consecutive weeks.
The graph below shows the total weekly beef kill over the past 12 weeks of this year compared to last year:
Weekly supply numbers have been trending above last year despite Bord Bia projections that the overall beef kill will decline in Ireland this year.
As of Sunday, March 10, a total of 353,507 head of cattle had been slaughtered this year, up 19,000 head on the same time period of last year.
Category Week ending
Sunday, March 10Same week
last yearCumulative
2024Cumulative
2023Young Bulls 2,254 2,002 28,824 30,645 Bulls 497 530 3,842 4,255 Steers 12,838 12,027 122,875 117,880 Cows 8,825 7,526 90,846 78,809 Heifers 9,788 9,616 107,120 102,905 Total 34,202 31,701 353,507 334,494
As can be seen from the table above, the overall number of bulls slaughtered this year has fallen with increases seen in all other cattle types.
The largest increase has been seen in the cow kill with a total of just under 91,000 cows processed to date this year, up 12,000 head on the same time period of last year.