Beef Update
IFA Livestock Chair Declan Hanrahan has hit out at factories for their opportunistic and unjustified attempts to drop beef prices. Declan Hanrahan said markets were never stronger, with Brazilian beef out of the EU market since September. This is creating real opportunities for Irish beef. He said the Bord Bia Prime Export Benchmark Price has now moved to 24c/kg above our price reflecting beef prices in our key markets and the demand for beef. The UK beef price increased by a further 4p/kg in the last week and is currently running 93c/kg above our prices, or over €370 on a 400kg carcase.
Declan Hanrahan said the strong throughput in recent weeks has brought numbers almost in line with last year at this stage and points towards a tightening of supplies for the remainder of the year. He said farmers should not be misled by factories and their agents talking down beef prices. They have taken advantage of the strong numbers in recent weeks, but this is coming to an end.
The IFA Livestock Chair said factories are buying for the lucrative Christmas trade; demand is strong and prices are rising in our key markets. Farmers should dig in and sell hard in positive market conditions for our beef.
Beef Price Update 05/11/2026
Base Steer €6.60/6.70kg. Heifers €6.70/6.90kg. Flat deals up to €7.20kg. Higher deals for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €6.80/7.10Kg. Cows €6.10/6.70kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 44 (01.11.2026)
| Animal | Number | Change prev wk | % of total | YTD | YTD Change |
| Y Bulls | 1,603 | ▼-186 | 5% | 90,610 | ▲2,851 |
| Bull | 380 | ▼-66 | 1% | 21,715 | ▲1,016 |
| Steer | 13,498 | ▼-2,141 | 40% | 537,648 | ▲9,600 |
| Cow | 7,104 | ▼-467 | 21% | 292,818 | ▼-5,374 |
| Heifer | 10,497 | ▼-648 | 31% | 411,638 | ▼-5,669 |
| Veal-V | 121 | ▼-6 | 0% | 2,258 | ▼-927 |
| Veal-Z | 152 | ▼-74 | 0% | 2,735 | ▲816 |
| Total | 33,355 | ▼-3,588 | 100% | 1,359,422 | ▲2,313 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 44 (01.11.2026)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | U3 | Change prev wk | R3 | Change prev wk | O3 | Change prev wk | P+3 | Change prev wk |
| Steers | 706 | ▼-5 | 697 | ▼-5 | 683 | ▼-6 | 657 | ▼-5 |
| Heifers | 715 | ▼-1 | 704 | ▼-3 | 697 | ▼-3 | 657 | ▼-10 |
| Y Bulls | 698 | ▼-5 | 692 | ▼-3 | 678 | ▲0 | 664 | ▼-10 |
| Cows | 0 | ▲0 | 655 | ▼-7 | 620 | ▼-9 | 606 | ▼-9 |
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 |
| 24/10/2026 | 655.7 | 657.2 | 655.7 | 657.0 | 644.2 | 635.9 | 509.0 |
| 31/10/2026 | 656.2 | 657.3 | 654.4 | 657.9 | 642.5 | 635.8 | 504.1 |
| Change | ▲1 | ▲0 | ▼-1 | ▲1 | ▼-2 | ▼-0 | ▼-5 |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 805.8 | 807.1 | 803.5 | 807.8 | 788.9 | 780.7 | 619.0 |
Euro Price for the Most Recent Week (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)
| Country & Type | 26.10.2024 | 25.10.2025 | 24.10.2026 |
| EU + Y Bulls R3 | 5.31 | 7.42 | 6.72 |
| IE + Steers R3 | 5.38 | 7.16 | 6.50 |
| UK + Steers R3 | 6.16 | 7.52 | 7.65 |
Sheep Market
IFA Sheep Chairman Adrian Gallagher said factories remain anxious for lambs as prices hold stable. He said prices are unchanged this week with spring lamb prices making from €8.10kg to €8.40kg on weights to 22.5kg. Some factories are offering deals on weights to 23kg when pushed. Cull ewe prices are making from €4.50kg to €5.00kg. He said UK and French prices are also strong and steady at €8.50kg and €9.10kg respectively. He said factories must continue to return strong prices for lambs and ensure they keep pace with the key market outlets we are selling into.
Supplies of finished lambs will remain tight in the coming weeks with fewer lambs coming forward for slaughter. Across the EU sheep meat production is expected to fall by 4% in 2026 to around 479,000 tonnes adding to the pressure on supplies. On the world market Australian lamb production is also forecasted to fall by 5% to around 600,000 tonnes this year while New Zealand is also expecting lower production. These lower supplies, along with steady demand from consumers and export markets are helping to support strong prices in the short to medium term.
Lamb Price Update 05/11/2026
Spring lamb €8.10/8.40kg. Weights to 23kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €4.50/5.00/kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 44 (01.11.2026)
| Animal | Figure | Change | YTD | YTD Change |
| Lambs/Hoggets | 634 | ▲131 | 700,940 | ▼-59,064 |
| Spring Lambs | 34,947 | ▲434 | 825,117 | ▲3,565 |
| Ewes and Rams | 6,456 | ▼-1,335 | 255,921 | ▲85,972 |
| Light Lambs | 0 | ▲0 | 2 | ▼-129 |
| TOTAL | 42,037 | ▼-770 | 1,781,980 | ▲30,344 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 44 (01.11.2026)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | This week | Change prev. wk | 2025 | Change prev. yr |
| National Avg Price | 786.72 | ▲1 | 739.04 | ▲48 |
| YTD Avg | 847.95 | ▼-2 | 823.34 | ▲8 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| R3L | Overall SQQ* | Type of lamb | |
| 24/10/2026 | 722.1 | 719.9 | New season Lamb |
| 31/10/2026 | 722.0 | 719.6 | New season Lamb |
| Change | ▼-0 | ▼-0 | |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 886.5 | 883.6 | 1 |
