Beef prices stay rock steady
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.
