Beef prices stay rock steady

BEEF prices remained rock steady at most factories last week returning an average to producers slightly above the quoted prices for the week.

Heifer prices topped the bullocks by 1p/lb for Rs, but were a similar amount lower than the bullocks for O grades. The drop in quoted prices for cull cows has been proportionally reflected in the actual prices paid to suppliers which were down by 3p-4p/lb. Bullock supplies were tight last week and some factories paid nearly 1p/lb more on average for their supplies, while at the other end of the scale a few of the processors dropped their prices with one factory paying an average of less than 84p/lb for R3 supplies.

Most factories paid within a very narrow price variation for R3 bullocks with two-third of the operating plants returning an average between 86p/lb and 87p/lb., mirroring the overall average for the grade of 86.6p/lb. Carrigans of Donegal Meats paid the highest average at 91.7p/lb.