Beef finishers facing losses of up to €750/head

Thousands of finishers who paid €5/kg and over liveweight for stores last autumn on the predictions of tight supply boosting prices, are now heading for losses

The factory quoted prices for steers and heifers are now 120c/kg less than this week in 2025, a drop of about €500/head, while bought-in prices last autumn were higher than the previous year.

Thousands of beef finishers are facing massive losses on 'bought-in' forward store animals as the downward pressure on prices at the factories continued to worsen.

Some of the factories are reported to be restricting intake from finishers trying to offload larger numbers as factory agents refrain from committing to prices forward and many of the cattlemen are beginning to fear the worst to come.

Reports last week the 80% of UK beef imports which Irish supplies held has slipped to about 66%, and Irish beef is no longer able to achieve the market premium it held, while cold stores at the factories are jam-packed, have scared the sector.

The key UK premium market for Irish beef is now being eroded by cheaper imports from third countries, as consumers experiencing a tightening of their available spend switch to the cheaper cuts.

Thousands of finishers who paid €5/kg and over liveweight for stores last autumn and early spring this year on the predictions of tight supply boosting prices up to 5% over 2025 are heading for massive losses of €500-750/head as returns slump further week after week.

The factory quoted prices for steers and heifers are now 120c/kg less than this week in 2025, a drop of about €500/head, while bought-in prices last autumn were higher than the previous year.

Quoted base prices this week across most of the larger processing plants have been reduced by a further 10c/kg for steers and heifers, and cow prices have also weakened, although there appears to be more variation in prices between factories and opportunities for shopping around.

While some of the smaller processing plants are offering a base of 630c/kg for steers this week, in general, larger operators are on a base of 620c/kg.

It is a similar pattern for heifers, with prices ranging from 630c/kg to 640c/kg.

There is some variation in the demand for cows at the factories this week, and prices have eased, with up to 610c/kg for well-fleshed R-grade cows and prices ranging from 600c/kg.

Young bull prices are following the general pattern, with R-grade animals being quoted at 620-625c/kg.