Irish Cattle Prices Slide as Export Demand Softens
Irish Cattle Prices Slide as Export Demand Softens
Week Ending 20 September 2025 – Ireland / Dublin
Irish beef processors paid €7.22/kg (deadweight, excluding VAT) for R3 steers in the week ending 20 September — a decline from recent highs.
That puts Irish prices slightly below the UK equivalent, which stood around €7.45/kg in the same period.
Factory quotes are under pressure. Starting bids this week range €7.10–7.20/kg for steers, while heifers are quoted at €7.20–7.30/kg.
Good quality cows in R grading are fetching €7.00–7.10/kg, and well-fleshed O grading cows are quoted at €6.80–6.90/kg.
Prices have eased due to softer beef demand across key export destinations, prompting factories to realign bids with broader European deadweight levels.
Meanwhile, cattle throughput in Irish DAFM-approved factories has dipped. Over the first 38 weeks of 2025, throughput is 8% lower compared to 2024.
The prime cattle kill is behind by 28,786 head (a 3% drop) year-on-year.
Cow slaughter is also down, falling 16% year-to-date, partly due to high prior culling and competition from dairy-related demand.
Live export trade slowed through summer but is picking up again as autumn progresses, with exporters showing renewed activity in livestock markets.
Source: Bord Bia – Irish Food Board (Cattle Trade & Prices, September 2025)
(Rewritten and summarised for Meatex.co.uk)
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