Factories hold price line as supply eases pressure

Beef factories are firmly holding the line on the prices for cattle this week as supply eases the pressure on the processors.

There was no change in the quoted prices for stock as the stronger than expected supply of cattle to the factories has undermined the prospect of higher prices for beef producers who have targeted the requirements for the pre-Christmas trade, with the autumn bought-in stock in their anticipation of a reasonable margin.

Intake at the plants last week came within a couple of hundred head of the corresponding week in 2011 for the first time in 2012, relieving the processors of the necessity to increase prices to secured the additional supplies required for the Christmas market, one of the most important periods of the year for the meat factories.