Irish Beef Prices Soar
Beef prices at the factories have reached an all-time record this week with processors hungry to get extra stock to fill their orders for Christmas.
An extra 5-10 cents/kg has been added to the factory quotes for both steers and heifers this week as competition between the meat plants to source sufficient intake continues to drive demand.
Supplies of finished cattle have tightened, which together with the strong market demand for beef makes for the perfect scenario that producers know is the perfect combination to deliver decent returns.
The general base quoted for steers has moved to 530-535 cents/kg, while some suppliers are reporting that 540 cents/kg can be got for larger numbers of quality steers.
Heifers are on base of 535-540 cents/kg and a few cents/kg more being paid in some deals.
“It is not often that finishers have the satisfaction of saying that they are being rewarded well for Autumn finishing of cattle, but it has to be admitted that we’ve never before seen the price at this year’s current level” admitted one finisher summing the trade.
“It may be that the prices are at a level that they need to be to get a bit of confidence back into finishing cattle, but it does not always happen like that and there have been too many bad years for those who have stuck with beef” he added.