Missing cattle may wait for price rise
Across the south, quoted prices settled at 229 and back to 218 cents/kg (82p-78p/lb) for R/O grades, with 3 cents kg (1p/lb) more on offer in the midlands. The prices show an improvement of 3 cents/kg (1p/lb) on last week at some factories, and the word on the ground has been that slightly better than quoted rates was secured by some suppliers for good quality cattle in deals with factories.
The overall supply was reported to be tight this week, but there were some exceptions, particularly in the deep south, where supplies were coming easy. The steer kill last week dropped by 1,600 head to 21,299, attributed to visits to the Ploughing Championships taking farmers’ attention off selling cattle. That drop in supply was expected, but it had been anticipated supplies would recover strongly; but indications were otherwise early this week.
