Factories forced to pay over quoted prices for beef

FACTORIES paid over the quoted prices for beef to get sufficient supplies last week as producers engaged in hard dealing with fewer cattle.

Official factory prices for the week confirm that the resistance by the producers was successful with improvements in the average price paid for most grades of cattle Cattle supplies for the week were about 25% lower than the same week last year and the same pattern was shown in the number of bullocks included in the kill at 12,940, compared to 16,741 for the corresponding week in 2002.

The average for R3 bullocks was 1p/lb higher and the average for R3 heifers was higher by 0.5p/lb with the pattern on prices somewhat similar for O3 grades in both sexes.