This week's factory quotes for beef cattle see the positivity from last week continue, with prices increasing at several outlets.

The 'all-in' prices for prime cattle are moving back towards the €7.00/kg mark once again, with €6.91/kg tabled for 'R+' grade Angus heifers from at least one Co. Donegal outlet this week when grid, breed and Quality Assurance (QA) bonuses are added in.

Some outlets are further behind this level on price, but competition for cattle seems to be more intense in the northern half of the country.

Mart managers and procurement staff are saying the numbers of forward and factory-fit cattle available have dropped off in recent weeks and the latest beef kill figures have verified this.

While this may be the case, official cattle inventory numbers would suggest kill numbers will recover to some degree, with the prime cattle kill forecast to be down 2% overall on last year and down 7% on 2024.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

This week, heifers are generally being quoted at €6.40/kg on the grid, with up to €6.50/kg on the grid tabled for heifers with 300-400kg carcass-weights.

Steers (bullocks) are generally being quoted at €6.30-€6.40/kg on the grid, with up to €6.50/kg tabled for 300-400kg carcass-weight steers this week.

Angus breed bonuses are generally ranging from 15-20c/kg on eligible cattle, while Hereford breed bonuses are generally ranging from 5-10c/kg on eligible cattle.

Some of the outlets starting this week with the lower price offers expect they will have to raise their offer to secure any major numbers of prime cattle this week.

Cow price

Cow price offers have moved up by approximately 10c/kg again this week at several outlets.

€5.80-€5.90/kg has been tabled for 'P' grade cows this week. 'O' grade cows are being quoted at €5.90/kg, with some outlets offering €6.00-€6.10/kg for 'O' grade cows this week.

Better-type Friesian cows are managing to secure €6.00/kg and above in most cases this week.

'R' grade cows are being quoted at €6.10-€6.20/kg this week with some outlets offering more for these.

'U' grade cows are being quoted at €6.20-€6.30/kg again this week.

Again, regular cow suppliers are - in cases - managing to secure more from the market.

Click here to see the latest official factory cow price data.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €6.60/kg for 'U' grades with the lower offers from last week moving up for this week again.

'R' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.50/kg in general this week with lower offers moving up this week.

'O' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.30-€6.40/kg and 'P' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.20-€6.30/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €6.30/kg on the grid in general this week.