The value of ‘the fifth quarter’, or the offal from beef cattle, has continued to soar this year as the overall price has now surpassed 50c/kg carcass weight.
Figures from Bord Bia’s Beef Market Tracker indicate that the overall value of the fifth quarter from beef cattle as of the week ending October 23, this year, stood at €0.51c/kg of carcass weight.
Offal price has been rising since late July of last year where it bottomed out at 21c/kg carcass weight.
To put this into context, an animal with a 400kg carcass weight had an offal value of €84/head on the week ending July 25, last year. This year, that offal value has increased by €120/head to €204/head, according to Bord Bia’s most recent figures.
The records available on Bord Bia’s beef market tracker go back as far as January 2017 where offal price last peaked on the week ending January 7, 2017 at 43c/kg.
The table below gives a breakdown of beef cattle offal values on the week ending October 23, this year, compared to the week ending October 24, last year, on a €/kg carcass-weight basis.
Product October 23, 2021 October 24, 2020 Hide €0.12 €0.07 White Offals €0.19 €0.09 Red Offals €0.20 €0.09 Overall €0.51 €0.25
As the table above indicates, both white offals and red offals have more than doubled in price in the space of 12 months, while hide has increased in value by over 58% – according to the Bord Bia figures.
According to Bord Bia’s website, offal and hide coming from an animal contributes to the overall value returned from the market and therefore “they influence the demand for finished cattle by beef processors”.
However, it is important to point out that while there are no published prices for Irish or EU hides or offal products, there are regular reports on the offal trade available from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Despite the lack of information on the European offal trade, these are globally-traded commodities and therefore, Bord Bia has said the US data provides “a reasonable reflection” of market trends.
The by-products are classed into three different categories:
- Hide;
- Red Offals: Tongue, liver, tail etc.;
- White Offals: Tripes, fats etc.
The Irish food board has however outlined that EU returns for offal tend to be somewhat lower, due to market access and the EU ban on meat and bone meal and blood meal in animal feed.