Market recovery beefs up prices

Marts: Beef prices have made further gains to maintain parity with last year for bullocks and edge slightly higher than 2006 for heifers as the recovery of the market continues.

Prices paid for bullocks and heifers edged up to 1-2 cents/k on average, while cow prices cooled a little, losing 6 cents/kg across the grades for higher price carcasses, and making gains of 3 cents/kg for poorer grading cows.

Half factories paid more for prime beef, with the remainder coming in around the same as the previous week, as the national average for R4L bullocks increased to 300 cents/kg (107p/lb) and R4L heifers rose to 302 cents/kg (107.7p/lb) on average.