With last year’s beef trade wrapping up on a more positive note than had been seen in the sector in previous years, the first week of 2022 is set to get underway on firm footing with regards to factory beef prices.
The impact of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases has failed to hamper processors’ demand for beef and it is hoped it will not impede the beef trade into the future.
Many speculators are quietly confident that factory prices will move in the right direction – from the farmers’ perspective – as the year progresses, but if the beef trade has taught us anything over the past number of years, it’s that nothing is for certain.
Starting with heifers this week, €4.30/kg on the grid is freely available, while farmers who are putting forward nice bunches of strong, well-fleshed, in-spec heifers are managing to secure a base price of 5-10c/kg more.
Steers are, generally, being quoted at 5c/kg less than heifers in most beef-processing plants with €4.25/kg on the grid being the general run in the bullock category. Again, where numbers of suitable bullocks are on offer, deals of up to 5-10c/kg more are being done.
Angus and Hereford breed bonuses remain firmly in place on in-spec heifers and steers with up to 25c/kg available for Angus and 10-15c/kg available for Herefords.
One Donegal-based factory is offering €4.35/kg for heifers and €4.30/kg on the grid for steers with a 10c/kg weight bonus for all types of beef cattle meeting certain carcass specifications.
As was the case before Christmas, some farmers with good bunches of finished cattle are looking to secure a flat-price deal for all the stock on offer in the bunch, and procurement staff seem to be still willing to oblige farmers in many cases.
Looking at cow price, a continued strength is evident in the cow trade this week with fleshed, U-grade cows still clearing €4.00/kg.
€3.90, €3.70 and €3.60/kg is on offer for R, O and P-grade cows respectively this week, with scope for 10-15c/kg more in each grade for better-type beef cows.
Under-24 month bulls are being quoted at a flat price of €4.20-€4.25/kg for R grades with €4.30-€4.35 on offer for U-grade bulls.
Plainer bulls are being quoted at €4.00 and €4.10 for under-24 month P- and O-grade bulls, respectively.
Finally, under-16 month bulls are being quoted at €4.20-€4.25/kg on the grid.
It should be noted that the above prices refer to what processors are quoting for cattle and, in many cases, factories are having to pay more than their quotes to secure numbers of cattle as the supply-demand dynamic remains in beef farmers’ favour.