Little change is being reported in the cattle trade this week as supplies are reported to be holding strong.
Bord Bia has said that The finished cattle trade continues to be underpinned by steady demand in recent days with the main focus on prime cattle ahead of the Christmas trade.
However, it says relatively strong supplies have been reported and the trade was reported as slow across our key export markets last week.
IFA beef price update
- Steer base €3.90/kg – €3.95/kg
- Heifers €4.00/kg-4.05/kg.
- Bulls R/U €3.90/kg-€3.95/kg – €4.00/kg-€4.05/kg.
- Cows €2.90/kg-€3.60/kg.
Supplies
The weekly beef kill for the week beginning November 23, 2015, sits at 33,183 head. This is up 3% on the previous week.
The weekly heifer kill has increased by 9% with and additional 814 heifers slaughtered last week compared to the previous week.
However, despite the increased number of heifers coming forward, the week-on-week steer kill has dropped by 5%, with the steer kill standing at 13,663 head.
The weekly cow kill last week was down by 2% at 6,505 head while the weekly bull kill stood at 464, an increase of 42 on the previous week.
There was a 21% increase in the weekly young bull kill with a throughput of 3,627 head last week.
Total throughput for the year-to-date is almost 1.45 million head, which represents a decline of 5% or almost 80,000 head on last year’s levels.
Britain
In Britain, Bord Bia says the AHDB report that average prices for R4L grade steers remain relatively stable in sterling terms with steers averaging at 357.8p/kg (equivalent to 497.0c/kg). It says the trade was slow for steaks with demand best for diced beef and round cuts.
Bord Bia says increased competition was reported on the British market on the back of a rise in imports of cheaper product from mainland Europe.
France
In France, the trade remains stable with demand still slow particularly at foodservice level with fewer people eating out, according to Bord Bia.
This has negatively impacted trade for thick skirts and flank steaks, it says. The R3 young bull price was unchanged at €3.73/kg while the O3 cow price was down 7c/kg to €3.05/kg.