Static market as processors keeping tight grip on price

While the positive tone of the beef trade has been maintained this week at the factories the movement in prices being paid to producers remains slight.

It should be the peak of the season for the early Summer finishers of beef, traditionally usually the month of greatest scarcity of supply as an impulse to force prices upwards to an annual best. While the scarcity of supply has existed through the year to date, relative to previous years, the processors have maintained a much tighter grip in resisting upward movement in 2012.

They continue to adopt a policy of conceding the minimum that producers will accept in order to get barely sufficient stock to fill their orders. Although prices have edged upwards by 1-2c/kg this week there is no change in policy and indications are that factories are determined to maintain their status quo.