Beef
At a meeting with MII on beef price cuts IFA Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden highlighted the level of farmer frustration at the attempts by factories to reduce prices and the increased production costs associated with finished cattle at this stage of the year. In addition, he said meal prices continue to rise. Brendan Golden said the situation is further compounded by the double standards applied by the EU when it comes to trade deals in comparison to the standards imposed on Irish and EU farmers. “Our key EU and UK markets continue to be undermined by imports from countries not meeting our production standards,” he said.
Beef Price Update 11/02/2021
Steer base €3.70/3.75kg. Heifers €3.70/3.80kg. Y Bulls R/U €3.60/3.80kg. Cows €2.90/3.40kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)
| Animal | Number | Change prev. wk. | % of total | YTD | YTD Change |
| Y Bulls | 3437 | ▼-141 | 11% | 17771 | ▼-6,815 |
| Bull | 328 | ▼-42 | 1% | 1579 | ▼-750 |
| Steer | 11172 | ▲624 | 37% | 54549 | ▼-2,100 |
| Cow | 6028 | ▼-483 | 20% | 31588 | ▲1,036 |
| Heifer | 9261 | ▼-875 | 30% | 52123 | ▼-3,181 |
| Veal-V | 202 | ▲178 | 1% | 280 | ▲54 |
| Veal-Z | 26 | ▼-20 | 0% | 167 | ▼-14 |
| Total | 30454 | ▼-759 | 100% | 158057 | ▼-11,770 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | U3 | Change prev. wk. | R3 | Change prev. wk. | O3 | Changeprev. wk. | P+3 | Change prev. wk. |
| Steers | 415 | ▲0 | 404 | ▲0 | 389 | ▲2 | 358 | ▲3 |
| Heifers | 423 | ▲0 | 411 | ▲2 | 397 | ▲1 | 351 | ▲1 |
| Y Bulls | 396 | ▲1 | 384 | ▲1 | 372 | ▲2 | 361 | ▲3 |
| Cows | 0 | ▲0 | 346 | ▲4 | 321 | ▲1 | 310 | ▲3 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| Steers | Steers | Heifers | Heifers | Y bull | Y bull | Cow | |
| p/kg | R3 | R4L | R3 | R4L | R3 | R4L | -O4L |
| 30.01.2021 | 383.6 | 387.1 | 383 | 386.1 | 371.4 | 361.5 | 264.2 |
| 30.01.2021 | 383 | 387.2 | 383 | 386.9 | 375.9 | 375.9 | 265.5 |
| Change | ▼-1 | ▲0 | ▲0 | ▲1 | ▲5 | ▲14 | ▲1 |
| Price in c/kg (Incl. VAT) | 459.6 | 464.6 | 459.6 | 464.3 | 451.1 | 451.1 | 318.6 |
Sheep
IFA National Sheep Chairman Sean Dennehy said the issue of new entrants to the Sheep Welfare Scheme must be resolved. This follows the Minister’s success in securing 2017 as the reference year from the EU Commission for this year. Sean Dennehy said the objective must be to accurately reflect the levels of activity on farms. New entrants in particular are not having their sheep numbers recognised. “The scheme conditions, which require new entrants to apply effectively within a year of starting, creates an anomalous situation that unfairly penalises them. This can and must be addressed in the Terms and Conditions of the scheme for 2021,” he said.
Lamb Price Update 11/02/2021
QA Hoggets €6.30/6.40kg paid. Higher deals for groups and larger lots. Ewes €2.80/3.10kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)
| Animal | Figure | Change | YTD | YTD Change |
| Lambs/Hoggets | 33669 | ▼-4,352 | 208806 | ▼-13,082 |
| Spring Lambs | 0 | ▲0 | 0 | ▲0 |
| Ewes and Rams | 4898 | ▼-740 | 30285 | ▼-6,160 |
| Light Lambs | 6 | ▲6 | 13 | ▲10 |
| TOTAL | 38573 | ▼-5,086 | 239104 | ▼-19,232 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 5 (01/02/2021)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | WK 5 | Change prev. wk | 2020 | Changeprev. yr |
| Avg Factory Price | 603.69 | ▲24 | 502.04 | ▲102 |
| Avg Mart Price | 532.78 | ▲10 | 429.88 | ▲103 |
| National Avg Price | 603.69 | ▲24 | 480.39 | ▲123 |
| YTD Avg | 588.87 | ▲4 | 477.28 | ▲112 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| R3L | Overall SQQ* | Type of lamb | |
| 30.01.2021 | 560.3 | 558.4 | Old season |
| 06.02.2021 | 542.5 | 542.5 | Old season |
| Change | ▼-18 | ▼-16 | |
| Price in c/kg (Incl. VAT) | 651.0 | 651.0 |
