Beef Prices: Demand of cattle down South underpins trade

Photo Brian Farrell

Martin Coughlan

July 27 2020 07:43 AM

Over the last two months, base prices for bullocks and heifers have climbed, plateaued and climbed again.

Two weeks ago the expectation was that prices would move from €3.70-€3.75/kg for bullocks and heifers respectively to €3.75 and €3.80/kg. They did, but only briefly.

Last week saw factories dig in at €3.70 and €3.75/kg with some starting the conversation at €3.65 and €3.70/kg. At that point there appeared to be a whiff of decay in the air.

Yet over the weekend, it became apparent that demand from southern plants in particular, had again stabilised the price at €3.70-3.75/kg.

On the bull side quotes continue to see U grades on €3.70/kg with R’s on €3.60/kg and better O’s depending on overall cover €3.50/kg. I did have a report of very well turned out under sixteen month Friesians hitting the scales at a flat price of €3.60/kg however.

Looking at the cull cows R grades appear to be also holding at €3.20-3.30/kg with upwards of €3.15/kg been given for numbers of O grades with better P’s varying from €2.90-3.00/kg although professional feeders are reported to be receiving an additional 5-10c/kg of a premium, depending on numbers and general cover.

The last few weeks of April this year saw bullocks and heifers struggled to hold a base price of €3.40-3.45/kg with P grade cows back around €2.30-2.40/kg mark as the industry struggled with the fallout from Covid.

Today those same bullocks and heifers are up 30-35c/kg yet P grade cows are stronger by 60c/kg; just an observation.

Before reading further I suggest you get a pencil, a piece of paper and a cup of tea.

At the height of the lockdown between 30th of March this year and 24th of May the total number of bullocks, heifers, young bulls and cull cows slaughtered at exporting plants reached 180,183. The same eight week period in 2019 saw 252,076 processed with the figure for 2018 being 250,519.

Averaging those 2018 and 2019 figures and subtracting that 180,183 from your answer you get 71,114. That 71,114 figure represents, mathematically, the number of possibly fit cattle that were not slaughtered due to the Covid lockdown in the period mentioned above.

Looking at the bigger picture, the total kill for 2020 to the middle of this month for bullocks, heifers, cull cows and young bull’s stands at 949,930 as against 995,670 for the same period in 2019, a difference of 45,740. In short, then this year’s kill to date is back 45,740 on 2019

In the here and now 35,302 cattle went through the processor's hands in the week ending the nineteenth this month back 429 on the previous week and 1,795 less than the week before that.

Beef Prices: Demand of cattle down South underpins trade

Farming Newsletter

Most Watched

Revealed: Ireland's Covid19 Hotspots

Elton John preforms in Cork on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour

Man faints while reuniting with his mother for the first time in one-and-a-half years in West Cork

Zookeeper saves drowning Orangutan and then revives him with CPR

'Giant crocodile' causes unrest on streets of the Philippines

Latest Beef Prices

Most Read

Latest