March 1, 2005

Increase of price continues of beef in Ireland

There will be a continuing increase of price of beef this week, the prices being paid to secure supplies moving ahead of the official quotes which remained firm at unchanged rates at the processors yesterday.

Quality R grade animals are commanding 294 cent/kg (105p/lb) and in some cases a shade more is being paid, while producers with mixed lots of good R/O animals are negotiating deals for flat prices of 103p/lb where supplies are in strong demand.

Most of the factories quoted 286 cent/kg (102p/lb) as a base prices for R4L animals yesterday, which under the grid scale would return 292 cent/kg (104p/lb) for R3 and 304 cent/kg (108p/lb) for U3 grade. But there is very little strict application of the grid scale showing in the prices, with continuing resistance from producers to the complexity of the grid and multiplicity of prices under the system.

Bonus payments for quality assured beef where applicable are payable on top of these rates, eg at Slaney Meats, Bunclody it is worth 11 cent/kg (4p/lb). The discounting of animals over 30 months has eased from 6 cent/kg (2p/lb) to 3 cent/kg (1p/lb) and many producers are negotiating deals without penalty for over age animals where supplies are continuing tight.

Cattle supplies have increased to parity with the same weeks last year at 15,000-16,000 bullocks a week going through the plants, amounting to about half of the total kill. The supply has remained steady for the past two weeks. While there is still some pressure on the processors to keep the intake up to that level, there is less anxiety showing by the factories to get supplies higher and there is less willingness to pay more to secure additional cattle over precise requirements to fill orders on hand.

In Britain, the price of striploin, topside and silverside has eased.