Tide starting to turn as factories scramble to fill their order books

On Sunday, I chanced a call to a finisher and big hurling fan from Wexford at half time in the Waterford-Wexford League match.

“Ye’re only three points up and it’s only half-time,” he said as he answered the phone.

“I won’t delay you Paddy, how is trade?” I asked.

Trade had “tightened” to the point that bullocks and heifers were up 5-10c/kg to €5.10/kg and €5.15/kg respectively. This tallied with other reports I’d received from across the country. “Things have turned,” I said, “They have,” he replied. “We’re now five points up.” And with that we parted. For the record Wexford ended up winning by three.

The point is how quickly things can change.

Slaughterings for the week ending March 3 as reported by the Department were back 765 head on the previous week; 36,921 is still a sizeable figure, but numbers are easing.

One reason is that some sellers are not willing to trade at current factory prices and have decided to hold their cattle until there is more on offer.

Another intriguing factor noted by two finishers is that their suppliers of meal have told them that their companies are not supplying any significant amounts of feed to their beef customers.

Not because of the price, but because their clients don’t have beef to finish.

And I wasn’t the only one on Sunday making calls about numbers and prices. Several farmers told me they had received calls on the day of rest from agents enquiring as to what they had available this week.

That doesn’t happen unless factory bosses are becoming concerned about where they are going get their next dinner.

Looking at those kill figures in more detail, bullocks were down 1,120, with young bulls less by 98 and cull cows up by 442.

With fewer steers and heifers, factories have upped their offers for culls, with Friesian O grades better by 10c/kg at €4.20/ kg, Ps also stronger by 10c/kg at €4.10/kg, and R grades trading at €4.60/kg in the west.

Young bulls have steadied at €5.35/kg and €5.25/kg for U and R grades up to 24 months, with under 16-months working off bases of €5.15-5.20/kg.

Bord Bia report: “European young bull prices have held relatively stable in the early weeks of 2024. The average reported price for R3 grading young bulls was €5.05/kg (excluding VAT) for the week ending February 25. This is 11c/kg below the same week last year.

“Tighter cattle supplies and firm demand have meant deadweight beef prices in the UK have remained strong, with the average R3 steer price increasing to €5.78/kg for the week ending February 25.”

Bord Bia add: “The trading of live animals continues to be a very important element of the Irish livestock industry, with just over 320,000 cattle leaving the country during 2023.

“There has been a particularly strong start to the year from an international trading perspective, with 3,304 cattle shipped to Israel and a further 1,964 cattle to Algeria.

“The trade with the UK has also gotten off to a firm start with 4,709 cattle making the journey to Northern Ireland and a further 672 exported to Great Britain.”