14th February, 2012

Livestock Price Coordinator for the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), John Cleary, has said that despite a strengthening in the cow trade, the overall factory beef trade is on a par with last week.

For a good mix of steers, the base price being quoted is €3.90 – 4.00/kg, there has been an increase of 10c on the upper quotes for steers from last week but these are difficult to achieve. Factories are quoting €4- €4.10/kg for heifers, no change from last week. For a mix of U and R grade bulls, the base price is also €3.95 – €4.05/kg, a slight fall from this time last week. Cows have had a strong week and the quotes from the factories reflect this. Quotes for cows range from  €3.30/kg for average cows right up to €3.70/kg for in spec animals.

Commenting on this week’s trade, Mr. Cleary said: “It’s steady as she goes this week for the beef trade. Steers are up a small bit, bulls are down and there’s no change with the heifers so it really does average itself out. The one area bucking the trend is that of the cow trade. There has been a move of 5-15c for cows which is fantastic news. The old adage is that the cow trade is the barometer for the rest of the beef trade so there are positive signs after a few weeks of uncertainty and price falls. Industry experts have alluded to me this week that the cow trade is set to continue very strongly for the best part of the year so there are reasons to be cheerful.”