Beef cattle throughput expected by Bord Bia to remain tight

At Macroom Mart last Saturday, 12 Friesian steers born Februrary, 2019, which weighed 466kg and sold for €785.

The beef trade at factories has become tougher this week with finishers finding it harder to secure the prices of recent weeks for their cattle, as processors “dig in”.

Late July and early August usually sees processors trying to shape the trade to their advantage for the increased autumn throughput, a process made harder for them this year by strong demand for beef restricting their scope to adjust prices.