Shippers gear up for live trade rebound
THE export trade is starting to pick up with shippers again showing interest in bull weanlings under 10 months up to 350kg says Glen Cooper of Mountrath Mart.
Nelius McAuliffe of Dingle Mart has also noted increased shipper activity. Turkey, Holland and Spain are rumoured to be among the possible final destinations for 270-280kg weanling heifers currently being sourced by some of his shipper clients.
All of the above brought a tinge of good news to the mart front last week where weather and ground considerations played a key role in setting the tone for those whose business is summer grazing.
While there was a bounce in prices among the bullocks a fortnight ago, last week saw this price dampen as the weather once again played a role.
Heifer trade
The story on the heifer side was more positive with modest average increases of 1-2c/kg recorded between 400-599kg, while the 600kg+ heifer improved by a tidy 7c/kg which is €42/hd on average. The lighter 350-399kg heifer however, didn’t fare so well falling back by 7c/kg or from €24-28/hd.
While the heifer price has moved up and down with regularity it has done so within fairly tight bands.
For example your 400-499kg heifer averaged €2.27/kg the week ending March 3 and last week she also averaged €2.27/ kg. That same week in March the 500-599kg heifer averaged €2.19/kg, while last week that figure was only 5c/kg better at €2.24/kg.
The price of your 600kg heifer is faring considerably better. Last week it averaged at €2.30/ kg compared to €2.06/kg eight weeks ago, which is a €144/hd improvement. This improvement is logical given that factory prices over the same period have improved by up to 20c/kg.
At the other end of the weight spectrum the 350-399kg light heifer is not having the best time of it. Last week her average price of €2.23/kg was 27kg below the €2.50/kg paid in late February/ early March.
Turning to the bullock trade, prices last week eased back on average by between 2-4c/kg. The Ringside table for last week shows that on average your 300399kg animal, at €2.16/kg is only 6c/kg better off than he was two months ago.
The 400-499kg bullock is unchanged from two months ago at €2.20/kg, while the 500599kg animal is 7c/kg better off at €2.19/kg. I doubt that additional €35-42/hd even paid for his feed.
The 600kg+ bullock is actually 1c/kg on average worse off at €2.14/kg than he was two months ago. The Ringside table for last week shows that on average your 300-399kg animal, at €2.16/kg is only 6c/kg better off than he was two months ago.
The 400-499kg bullock is unchanged from two months ago at €2.20/kg, while the 500-599kg animal is 7c/kg better off at €2.19/kg.
I doubt that additional €3542/hd even paid for his feed. The 600kg+ bullock is actually 1c/kg on average worse off at €2.14/kg than he was two months ago.