Beef & Sheep UpdateCattleCattle PricesSheepSheep Prices

Beef & Sheep Update 29th April

Cattle and Sheep in Wicklow Field, Ireland

Beef Update

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said supplies of beef in the UK market are running 7% below last years levels with prices in this key market rising, providing the opportunity for higher beef price returns. He said the EU young bull prices are also performing strongly and when combined with the UK price in the Prime Export Benchmark price of €4.98/kg it is leaving a gap of 17c/kg with our price. Brendan said beef prices are continuing to edge upwards but have a journey to travel to close out the 17c/kg gap. He said demand for beef in our key markets and the absence of South American imports puts Irish beef in a very strong position and this must be returned in prices to farmers.

Beef Price Update 28/04/2022

Steer Base €4.80/4.95kg. Heifers €4.85/5.00kg. Higher deals and flat prices for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €4.80/5.10Kg. Cows €4.20/4.80kg

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 15  (24.04.2022)

AnimalNumberChange prev. wk.% of totalYTDYTD Change
Y Bulls1,969▲556%47,652▲1,187
Bull608▲182%8,468▲1,250
Steer12,628▼-874 38%198,838▲17,143
Cow8,242▲22525%122,232▲22,498
Heifer9,477▼-444 28%164,712▲11,613
Veal-V445▼-558 1%26,967▲6,874
Veal-Z40▼-7 0%680▼-17 
Total33,409▼-1,585 100%569,549▲60,548

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – Week 15  (24.04.2022)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)U3Change prev wkR3Changeprev wkO3Change prev wkP+3Changeprev wk
Steers521▲3512▲4500▲3469▲2
Heifers527▲1515▲2507▲4459▲3
Y Bulls508▲6497▲6476▲5462▲4
Cows0▲0466▲0438▲5422▲4

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

 SteersSteersHeifersHeifersY bullY bullCow
p/kgR3R4LR3R4LR3R4L-O4L
16.04.2022443.1444.9443.9446434.8436374.8
23.04.2022443.4446.1437.9444.2447.2438.0439.5
Change▲0▲1▲0▲1▲5▼-0 ▲0
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)557.4560.8558.4562.2552.5547.7471.7

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

Country & Type18.04.202017.04.202116.04.2022
EU + Y Bulls€ 3.44€ 3.80€ 5.13
IE + Steers€ 3.41€ 3.97€ 4.82
UK + Steers € 3.74€ 4.66€ 5.19
Source: Bord Bia

Sheep Update

IFA Sheep committee chairman Kevin Comiskey said demand from factories is improving for spring lamb and must be reflected in prices offered to farmers. He said current sheep prices are lagging behind last years prices by up to 50c/kg despite the input cost increases sheep farmers are faced with. The IFA sheep chairman said hogget and spring lamb prices have strengthened in the UK market and our factories must follow suit with meaningful price increases for spring lamb and hoggets. He said sheep farmers do not have the resources to absorb the current production costs and factories must do more to reflect the cost of production in hogget and lamb price.

Lamb Price Update 28/04/2022

Hogget €7.20/7.50/kg. Spr lamb €8.00/8.40/kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €3.80/4.00/kg.

Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – Week 15  (24.04.2022)

AnimalFigureChangeYTD YTD Change
Lambs/Hoggets38,657▼-10,026 741,559▲119,036
Spring Lambs6,110▲1,26616,014▼-1,435 
Ewes and Rams4,956▲19780,151▼-3,934 
Light Lambs1▼-13 41▼-53 
TOTAL49,724▼-8,576 837,765▲113,614

Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM –  Week 15  (24.04.2022)

c/kg (Incl. VAT)WK 15Change prev wk2021Change prev. yr
National Avg Price733.33▲4766.91▼-34 
YTD Avg693.40▲3668.25▲25

Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB

 R3L Overall SQQ*Type of lamb
16/04/2022600.6595.4Old season
23/04/2022602.9597.9Old season
Change▲2▲3 
Price in c/kg (Incl VAT)757.9751.6 
Source: Bord Bia

Related Articles