Slight increases for beef

Marts: While the upward trend in beef prices has been maintained, the pace of the increase has eased at the factories where average prices improved by 1-2c/kg last week.

There was very little movement in the higher prices paid by the processors, leaving most of the gains from an improvement in returns from the lower-paying plants.

Nevertheless, the farmer pay sheet returns show margins of up to 21c/kg (7p/lb) between the factories for similar grade stock — in excess of €1,000 on a load of cattle — to be gained or lost, depending on where the animals are sold.

Very few of the southern-based factories feature among the processors paying the higher prices for cattle, reflecting a generally observed pattern of up country processors being the best buyers, contributed to by the tighter supply of stock available to the factories for most of the year.

The average paid for R4L bullocks increased marginally to 342c/kg (122p/lb) with similar grade heifers making small gains to an average of 344c/kg (123p/lb). Euro Foods (Duleek) paid the highest price for the R4L bullocks at 348c/kg (124p/lb), marginally ahead of Donegal Meats, Kepak (Kilbeggan), Slaney Meats (Bunclody) and Liffeys (Hacketstown). A top price of 352c/kg (125.7p/lb) was paid by Slaney Meats for U grade bullocks.

Donegal Meats paid the highest price for R4L heifers at 353c/kg (126p/lb), followed by Kepak (Clonee), Slaney Meats, and Euro Foods.

The average for O4L bullocks increased slightly to 333c/kg (119p/lb) and the average for O3 heifers slipped narrowly to 333c/kg (119p/lb).

The buoyancy of the cow trade was fully maintained with prices showing slight gains. The top of the trade was dominated by Liffey Meats (Ballyjamesduff) paying the highest price in all grades.

They paid an average of 309c/kg (110p/lb) for R grade cows — Kepak, Dunbia and AIBP (Clones) were only marginally lower — and 303c/kg (108p/lb) for O grade with an average of 301c/kg paid for P grade.