Factory buyers made their presence felt in Carnew Mart on Saturday, according to the Mart Manager David Quinn.
Quinn said that forward cattle prices increased by 10c/kg on Saturday compared to the week before, as more factory agents sought stock.
He said that the improvement in the trade has occurred as finished cattle numbers are beginning to tighten on the ground and numbers are beginning to get scare.
A similar story was also seen in Tullow Mart on Friday.
According to the Mart Manager Eric Driver, forward store cattle prices increased by 10c/kg on Friday, as more farmers are looking for cattle to graze.
Driver said that many grass buyers have returned to the ring to purchase stock, due to the good grass growth rates over the last couple of weeks.
He also said that finishers are little bit more confident about the direction in which the trade is heading, as factories are offering a relatively good beef price at the minute.
Heavy steers and heifers were also in demand in the west.
Michael Murphy, the Mart Manager of Balla Mart said there was a good trade all round, with prices slightly improved on last week, helped by the warm weather.
The mart manager said that the best beef heifer on offer sold for €1,525 or €2.36kg, while the forward steers traded from €1.83-2.96/kg.
Cattle trade round up
Carnew Mart
Along with strong demand for forward cattle, Quinn said there was good trade for the export type weanlings on offer in Carnew Mart on Saturday.
Quinn continued to say there was strong demand from beef finishers, with the best of the store steers and heifers selling from €3/kg and €2.70/kg respectively.
The mart manager added that beef and forward steers sold from €680-1,150 over, while the similar type heifers sold from €500-860 over.
Tullow Mart
The cattle trade continues to remain good in Tullow Mart, according to the Mart Manager Eric Driver.
Driver said that the weanling trade continues to remain strong, with 400kg Charolais and Limousin heifers trading from €2.60-2.80/kg, while the muscled blue heifers sold to a top price of 3.05/kg.
However, he said that the trade is currently being driven by farmers trying to secure stock to graze, while exporters are finding it difficult to compete with these buyers around the ring.
The mart manager also said that the cow trade has improved slightly over the last couple of weeks, especially for the heavier lots which sold to a top price of €1,040 over on Friday.
Light feeder cows sold from €200 over, he said, while the better quality beef cows made €760-820 over.
Balla Mart
The better weather resulted in some improvement in the cattle trade in Balla Mart on Saturday, according to the Mart Manager Michael Murphy.
Murphy said there was a good trade for store cattle, store steers sold from €600-850 over or €1.86-3.37/kg, while similar type heifers made €1.66-3.30/kg.
There was also a small number of weanling heifers on offer, he said, and there was good demand for weanling heifers which sold from €2.32-3.40/kg.
Murphy added that there were 188 cows on offer, which was the biggest sale in a while and these lots traded from €1.41-2.92/kg.