Horsemeat scandal leads to high cattle prices

The horse burger controversy has boosted the beef market in the UK, which takes nearly half of Ireland’s beef output.

In the UK, the National Beef Association is urging its beef finisher members to trade every animal they have ready to sell over the next two weeks, to take maximum advantage of a cattle price lift triggered by a beef buying spree at retail and processor level.

Meanwhile, prices for beef cattle in Ireland continue unchanged, or improved by up to 10 cent per kg, compared to mid-January, when it was first revealed that beef burgers were contaminated with horse meat.