This week’s factory quotes sees beef prices continue to fall with another 5c/kg taken off all cattle quotes for this week.
Bord Bia’s Cattle Price Dashboard shows that as of Saturday, July 15, the Irish Composite Price was €4.61/kg while the Export Benchmark Price was €4.81/kg.
In the same week, the average R3 steer price in Ireland was €4.88/kg while the UK average was €5.51/kg. The average R3 grade EU young bull price was €4.80/kg.
Factory quotes: Heifers and steers
Most outlets are generally quoting from €4.75-4.80/kg on the grid for heifers this week, while steers are generally being quoted at prices ranging from €4.70-4.75/kg.
Top prices of €4.85/kg and €4.90/kg on the grid remain available for steers and heifers respectively.
Angus and Hereford breed bonuses remain available on suitable, in-spec heifers and steers, ranging from 10c-30c/kg.
The 30c/kg Angus bonus is more difficult to attain currently with more processors offering from 20-25c/kg as a bonus for angus and 10-15c/kg for Hereford.
The mart trade remains strong for forward-type and fleshed cattle with heavy, continental bullocks making up to €2.90/kg at Headford Mart on Saturday (July 22).
Cows
The cow trade has slipped a further 5c/kg at some sites this week, while cow price quotes have held at others
A significant variation remains in cow price between factories with some cow buyers and wholesalers paying extra for choice, fleshed cows on a case-by-case basis.
Because of this, many farmers with small numbers of fleshed cows are choosing the mart as their sale destination of choice.
Cows grading a U are being quoted at prices ranging from €4-30-4.45/kg, while cows grading an R are being quoted at €4.20-4.35/kg.
Cow grading an O are being quoted at €4.00-4.15/kg and cows grading a P are being quoted at €3.90-4.05/kg.
Some factories are quoting up to 10c/kg below this for cows while other processors are paying up to 10c/kg above these levels for cows.
Bulls
Under-24-month bulls are generally being quoted at €4.80-4.90/kg for U grades. Bulls grading an R are being quoted at €4.70-€4.80/kg .
Bulls gradin O and P are being quoted at €4.60 and €4.50/kg respectively. Some outlets are offering a 10c/kg weight bonus for bulls with a carcass weight of between 300-400kg.
Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €4.70/kg on the grid.