Beef Update
IFA Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden said beef farmers with cattle to sell now have made huge investments to have these cattle for factories at this time of year. Without these committed beef finishers, factories would not be able to service our key markets with guaranteed weekly supplies of beef. “Clearly, factories have arrangements in place with some of their larger suppliers but it is not acceptable that smaller scale beef finishers are forced into taking lower prices and incurring prolonged costs on their farms,” he said. UK prices remain strong, beef supplies across Europe are tight and indications are for further tightening of supplies here and in our key markets in the coming weeks and months. He said factories and Bord Bia must do more to ensure farmers production costs are fully reflected in beef prices. “These are the some of the same farmers who will incur significant cuts in their Basic Payments putting the viability of these production systems under threat through a combination of processor and supermarket power, market failures and EU farm policy direction,” he said. He said as it stands the viability of these farms is more dependent than ever on market returns and factories can and must do more in this space by ensuring beef prices reflect the costs farmers have incurred in finishing cattle in sheds.
Beef Price Update 08/06/2023
Base Quotes Steer €5.05/5.15kg. Heifers €5.10/5.20kg. Higher deals and flat prices for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €5.00/5.40Kg. Cows €4.30/4.90kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 22 (04.06.2023)
| Animal | Number | Change prev wk | % of total | YTD | YTD Change |
| Y Bulls | 3450 | ▲440 | 11% | 56858 | ▼-8,664 |
| Bull | 636 | ▲31 | 2% | 11541 | ▼-497 |
| Steer | 11779 | ▲150 | 37% | 263057 | ▼-11,195 |
| Cow | 7502 | ▼-113 | 23% | 163998 | ▼-6,688 |
| Heifer | 8651 | ▼-193 | 27% | 210429 | ▼-9,270 |
| Veal-V | 5 | ▲2 | 0% | 30387 | ▲2,519 |
| Veal-Z | 36 | ▼-5 | 0% | 946 | ▲4 |
| Total | 32059 | ▲312 | 100% | 737216 | ▼-33,791 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 22 (04.06.2023)
| c/kg(Incl. VAT) | U3 | Change prev wk | R3 | Change prev wk | O3 | Change prev wk | P+3 | Change prev wk |
| Steers | 554 | ▼-6 | 544 | ▼-4 | 565 | ▲30 | 495 | ▼-8 |
| Heifers | 565 | ▼-2 | 548 | ▼-4 | 536 | ▼-6 | 486 | ▼-5 |
| Y Bulls | 548 | ▼-1 | 532 | ▲0 | 506 | ▼-8 | 494 | ▲1 |
| Cows | 0 | ▲0 | 484 | ▼-3 | 445 | ▼-10 | 430 | ▼-11 |
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 |
| 27/05/2023 | 499.7 | 503.9 | 499.6 | 503.2 | 495.5 | 496.6 | 411.9 |
| 03/06/2023 | 496.6 | 500.7 | 491.7 | 495.3 | 499.7 | 489.1 | 492.1 |
| Change | ▼-3 | ▼-3 | ▼-4 | ▼-4 | ▼-3 | ▼-3 | ▲0 |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 617.0 | 622.0 | 615.3 | 620.8 | 611.4 | 612.7 | 511.7 |
Euro Price for the Most Recent Week (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)
| Country & Type | 29.05.2021 | 28.05.2022 | 03.06.2023 |
| EU + Y Bulls | € 3.83 | € 4.98 | € 4.90 |
| IE + Steers | € 4.13 | € 5.26 | € 5.19 |
| UK + Steers | € 4.60 | € 5.19 | € 5.67 |
Live Exports W/C 22.05.2023
Sheep Update
IFA Sheep Chairman Kevin Comiskey said spring lamb numbers remain tight on the ground and demand for sheep meat will increase as the Eid al Adha festival approaches later this month.
He said hogget supplies continue to drop off and with no surge of spring lambs coming to market factories are struggling to match supplies with market demand.
He said spring lambs are making from €7.50kg to €7.80kg with deals on weights to 21kg available. Hogget’s are making €6.90kg to €7.20kg with higher deals for groups and larger lots. Cull ewes are ranging from 3.30kg to €3.80kg in general. The IFA Chairman said farmers should sell hard and consider the mart outlet where competition from live exporters, factory agents and butchers is increasing for finished lambs.
Lamb Price Update 08/06/2023
Hogget €6.90/7.20/kg. Spr Lamb €7.50/7.80/kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €3.30/3.80/kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 22 (04.06.2023)
| Animal | Figure | Change | YTD | YTD Change |
| Lambs/Hoggets | 18373 | ▲0 | 919879 | ▲54,422 |
| Spring Lambs | 25659 | ▲0 | 90810 | ▼-25,528 |
| Ewes and Rams | 5494 | ▲0 | 110728 | ▼-267 |
| Light Lambs | 3 | ▲0 | 106 | ▲43 |
| TOTAL | 49529 | ▲0 | 1121523 | ▲28,670 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 22 (04.06.2023)
| c/kg(Incl. VAT) | WK 22 | Change prev. wk | 2022 | Change prev. yr |
| National Avg Price | 741.92 | ▼-11 | 782.08 | ▼-40 |
| YTD Avg | 668.41 | ▲4 | 710.70 | ▼-42 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| R3L | Overall SQQ* | Type of lamb | |
| 27/05/2023 | 732.3 | 732.9 | New season lamb |
| 03/06/2023 | 707.3 | 709.1 | New season lamb |
| Change | ▼-25 | ▼-24 | |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 878.7 | 881.0 |
Live Sheep Exports 01.04.2023
