Irish Cattle Market Update
Cattle Trade & Prices: Irish Throughput Tightens as Prices Ease
Ireland | Week ending 13 December
Throughput
Cattle supplies for processing in Ireland remain tight, driven by a combination of lower numbers of slaughter age cattle on farms and reduced cow throughput.
Total cattle throughput for the week ending 13 December stood at 32,590 head, down 16% on the 38,631 head processed in the same week of 2024. Despite this reduced availability, industry reports suggest the supply and demand balance has remained broadly stable.
Earlier in the year, relatively strong numbers of prime cattle moved through export-approved plants. However, tighter availability in recent months has reversed this trend, with the prime kill year-to-date now down 94,787 head (-7.5%) compared with last year.
Cow availability has also declined sharply. A combination of favourable milk prices and historically high cow culling levels in recent years has reduced the pool of cows available for slaughter in 2025. As a result, cow throughput is now running 21% lower year-to-date.
Overall, the total cattle kill in DAFM-approved factories for the first 50 weeks of the year is 12% behind 2024 levels.
Quotes
Processor quotes edged slightly lower last week, with most steers quoted at around €7.10/kg, while heifer quotes opened at approximately €7.20/kg.
R-grade cows: €6.70–€6.80/kg
Well-fleshed O-grade cows: €6.50–€6.70/kg
P-grade cows: €6.40–€6.50/kg
Prices
Irish deadweight prices have come under modest downward pressure in recent weeks following reductions in base quotes by most major processors.
For the week ending 13 December, the average R3 steer price fell by 5c to €7.27/kg, placing it 21c/kg below the UK equivalent price of €7.48/kg.
Pressure on the trade is linked to a softening supply-demand balance in export markets. Meanwhile, the average EU R3 young bull price increased to €7.26/kg, just 1c/kg below the equivalent Irish price, highlighting Ireland’s continued competitiveness within the European market.
Reported prices exclude VAT but include all applicable bonuses, including in-spec and breed-related payments.
Source: Bord Bia – Cattle Trade & Prices | 7 January 2026
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