Steady lift in beef prices continues

Marts: The steady lift in beef prices continued at the factories over the past week, with a further increase of up to 1p/lb being paid to producers as tight supply remains.

While prices for R3 bullocks reached a top factory average of 101p/lb at Donegal Meats, the major players are falling back in the price league, with the average paid by both AIBP Group and Dawn Group slipping below the national average for last week.

Farmer pay-sheet returns for last week show that the Clones plant which paid an average of almost 98p/lb for R3 bullocks was the only factory in the AIBP Group to pay above the national average of 96.2p/lb for this category.