Factory beef prices drop slightly
The kill for the week eased back slightly on the previous week with a throughput of 41,856 head compared to 42,389 head the previous week, but it was not enough to prevent a further cut in the prices paid. Bullocks accounted for 17,830 head which was 1,400 back on a week earlier, but still remaining a few hundred higher than for the corresponding week in 2003.
The bad news for producers was that the national average paid for both R3 bullocks and heifers dropped by 3 cents/kg (1p/lb) while the average for O3 animals suffered a slightly heavier cut. The factories paid an average of just under 87p/lb for R3 bullocks and 88p/lb for R3 heifers.
Individual factory averages for R3 bullocks were down by up to 6 cents/kg (2p/lb), but at the lower end of the scale the weakest prices paid for both bullocks and heifers moved nearer to the overall average.
Carrigans continued to lead the field for R3 bullocks paying an average of almost 90p/lb - down more than 3p/lb on the early November price paid - followed Dawn Meats at Midleton and AIBP factories at Nenagh and Cahir paying between 88.1p/lb and 88.6p/lb. Kepak at Watergrasshill and Duffy's of Gort averaged a whisker under 88p/lb average. The average for O3 bullocks was just over 82p/lb.
Five factories - Dawn at Waterford, AIBP factories at Nenagh and Waterford, Slaney Meats and Jennings - paid between 89p/lb and 89.6p/lb average for R3 heifers, with Kepak, at Clonee leading on an average of almost 92p/lb which may have included a mix of producer group stock at premium prices. The national average for o3 grade heifers was 82p/lb.
