Beef & Sheep UpdateCattleCattle PricesSheepSheep Prices

Beef & Sheep Update 11th February

Cattle and Sheep in Wicklow Field, Ireland

Beef Update

IFA Livestock chairman Brendan Golden said demand for beef is strong as prices continue to increase, rising a further 5c/kg. He said factories are offering deals on transport and flat deals to secure numbers. €4.40/kg base price is available in most factories for steers, with €4.45/kg the starting point for heifers with all factories paying 5 to 10c/kg above quotes to secure numbers pushing paid prices to €4.50 and €4.60/g respectively with higher deals for specialist and larger lots. Young bulls are ranging from €4.30/kg to €4.50/kg for R/U grades with flat prices of €4.45/kg. Cows are making €3.70/kg to €4.10/kg. Brendan Golden said farmers should sell hard, demand for beef in our key export markets is strong and supplies of suitable cattle are tight with mart prices for cull cows and finished cattle well above factory prices in cases and providing real competition for farmers. He said all in prices of €5/kg are now very much in play and needed as production costs look set to be 65c/kg above last year’s levels.

Beef Price Update 10/02/2022

Steer Base €4.30/4.50kg. Heifers €4.40/4.55kg. Higher deals larger lots. Y Bulls R/U €4.25/4.40Kg. Cows €3.60/4.10kg

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (31.01.2022)

AnimalNumberChange prev. wk.% of totalYTDYTD Change
Y Bulls3,691▼-515 10%19,161▲1,390
Bull329▼-36 1%2,192▲613
Steer12,655▲42635%56,540▲1,991
Cow7,955▲35622%34,145▲2,557
Heifer11,327▲63631%52,066▼-55 
Veal-V159▲1300%221▼-59 
Veal-Z72▼-33 0%258▲91
Total36,188▲964100%164,583▲6,528

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (31.01.2022)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)U3Changeprev wkR3Changeprev wkO3Changeprev wkP+3Changeprev wk
Steers466▼-1 459▲2446▲3414▲2
Heifers457▼-17 461▲0456▲3402▼-2 
Y Bulls447▲2437▲1424▲1416▲5
Cows0▲0413▲6381▲2366▲3

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

 SteersSteersHeifersHeifersY bullY bullCow
p/kgR3R4LR3R4LR3R4L-O4L
29.01.2022414415.4414.3415.4405.9394.8291.5
05.02.2022412.6413.5406.1412.6414.2405.3403.8
Change▼-1 ▼-2 ▼-2 ▼-1 ▼-2 ▲3▲3
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)518.7519.8518.7520.7507.6500.3370.4

Euro Price for the Most Recent Week  (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)

Country & Type08.02.202006.02.202105.02.2022
EU + Y Bulls€ 3.62€ 3.71€ 4.57
IE + Steers€ 3.66€ 3.82€ 4.35
UK + Steers € 4.00€ 4.37€ 4.91

Live Exports W/C 24.01.2022

Source: Bord Bia

Sheep Update

IFA sheep committee chairman Kevin Comiskey said factory cuts for overweight and underweight lambs are unjustified. He said the trade is strong for sheep meat and factories should be working with farmers, not against them. The IFA sheep committee chairman said most lambs continue to move between €6.90/kg and €7.00/kg, cull ewes are in strong demand with prices in general from €3.30/kg to €3.60/kg. Kevin Comiskey said the mart trade continues to be a viable alternative and where there is good competition between factory agents and butchers prices are at the higher end of the scale. He said it is important farmers sell lambs when fit to maintain control of the supply situation and maximise returns. The IFA sheep committee chairman said sheep farmers are facing cost increases for the year of between €10 and €12/ewe on fertiliser alone based Teagasc estimates and there is no capacity on sheep farms to absorb these increases, they must be returned from the market place.

Lamb Price Update 10/02/2022

Hogget/lamb €6.80/7.00/kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €3.30/3.60/kg. Sell hard.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (31.01.2022)

AnimalFigureChangeYTD 
Lambs/Hoggets46,446▲3,796219,301▲10,495
Spring Lambs0▲00▲0
Ewes and Rams6,307▼-1,727 30,408▲123
Light Lambs0▼-9 19▲6
TOTAL52,753▲2,060249,728▲10,624

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 5  (31.01.2022)

c/kg(Incl. VAT)WK 05Changeprev wk2021Change prev yr
National Avg Price674.41▲21603.69▲71
YTD Avg678.90▼-1 588.87▲90

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

 R3L Overall SQQ*Type of lamb
29.01.2022580.2577.6Old season
05.02.2022590.0587.4Old season
Change▲10▲10 
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)741.7738.4 
Source: Bord Bia

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