Beef & Sheep Update 16th April

Beef Update

IFA President Tim Cullinan held a meeting with the Tanáiste and Minister for Trade Leo Varadkar yesterday, at which he insisted that the Government must reject the proposed EU Commission trade deal with the Mercosur countrie. IFA National Livestock Chair Brendan Golden said it’s hugely hypocritical for the Commission to be preaching about the Farm to Fork and Green Deal strategies, while at the same time facilitating wide scale environmental degradation in South America. “The EU Commission cannot have it both ways. They expect the highest standards from farmers here, yet they are willing to sign a deal like this. If the ideals of the EU Commission are to stand for anything, this has to be stopped in its tracks,” he said.

Beef Price Update 15/04/21

Steer base €3.95/4.00kg. Heifers €4.00/4.10kg. Higher deals. Market strong. Y Bulls R/U €3.90/4.15kg. Cows €3.20/3.70kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 14 (05.04.2021)

Animal	Number	Change prev. wk.	% of total	YTD	YTD Change
Y Bulls	2,166	▼-79	7%	42,102	▼-15,275
Bull	614	▲12	2%	6,077	▼-1,890
Steer	11,600	▼-96	39%	158,824	▼-12,248
Cow	5,906	▼-279	20%	86,355	▼-6,607
Heifer	8,494	▼-1,031	29%	135,072	▼-20,925
Veal-V	680	▼-168	2%	19,075	▼-4,953
Veal-Z	32	▲9	0%	567	▲4

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 14 (05.04.2021)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)	U3	Change prev wk	R3	Change prev wk	O3	Change prev wk	P+3	Change prev wk
Steers	425	▲7	412	▲5	396	▲6	368	▲5
Heifers	429	▲4	417	▲5	402	▲3	360	▲0
Y Bulls	405	▲3	394	▲3	378	▲3	370	▲3
Cows	0	▲0	356	▲4	335	▲5	326	▲8

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
03.04.2021	402.9	406.9	402.4	406.8	394.1	393.6	287.9
10.04.2021	404.2	408.8	404.5	408.6	400.6	402.3	290.3
Change	▲1	▲2	▲2	▲2	▲7	▲9	▲2
Price in c/kg(Incl. VAT)	490.6	496.2	491.0	496.0	486.2	488.3	352.4

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

Country & Type	13.04.2019	11.04.2020	10.04.2021
EU + Y Bulls	€ 3.61	€ 3.44	€ 3.77
IE + Steers	€ 3.65	€ 3.45	€ 3.90
UK + Steers	€ 3.99	€ 3.79	€ 4.64

Live Exports W/C 29.03.2021

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Sheep Update

IFA National Sheep Chairman Sean Dennehy said hogget prices have hit €8.00/kg as factories struggle to match supplies with market demand. He said factories are paying €7.70-€8.00/kg for QA hoggets as Ramadan and strong supermarket sales of lamb drive the trade. Sean Dennehy said up to €8.50/kg is being paid for spring lamb. Cull ewes are ranging from €3.20-€3.50/kg in general. He said the strong factory demand is feeding through to the mart sales where agents and wholesalers are competing strongly for the limited numbers of hoggets, lambs and cull ewes available.  Prices are comparable to and in cases above what factories are offering some farmers.

Lamb Price Update 15/04/21

QA Hoggets €7.80/8.00kg. Spring Lamb €8.30/8.50kg. Higher deals for groups and larger lots. Strong demand. Ewes €3.20/3.50kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 14 (05.04.2021)

Animal	Figure	Change	YTD	YTD Change
Lambs/Hoggets	31,435	▼-4,991	559,733	▼-46,952
Spring Lambs	2,497	▲1,107	3,887	▲1,534
Ewes and Rams	4,022	▼-510	73,103	▼-10,703
Light Lambs	3	▼-3	85	▲67
TOTAL	37,957	▼-4,397	636,808	▼-56,054

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 14 (05.04.2021)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)	Week 14	Changeprev. wk	2020	Changeprev. yr
National Avg Price	757.84	▲34	509.61	▲248
YTD Avg	653.27	▲8	508.55	▲145

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

	R3L	Overall SQQ*	Type of lamb
03.04.2021	624.7	619.3	Old season
10.04.2021	648.2	646	Old season
Change	▲24	▲27
Price in c/kg(Incl VAT)	786.8	784.1