Beef Update
IFA President Francie Gorman said the EU must immediately stop imports of beef from Brazil and cease negotiations with the Mercosur countries on a trade deal involving meat. This follows the publication of a damning report by the European Commission’s Directorate-General (DG) for Health and Safety on Brazilian quality control systems for beef exported to the EU. The report found that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply in Brazil is ‘not in a position to reliably attest’ to operator compliance with the non-use of hormones in beef from cattle destined for the EU market, with the controls described as ineffective. “It really is unbelievable against the backdrop of such serious findings of the Food Safety audit carried out in Brazil, which identified critical in adequacies in the systems to certify beef to meet the EU health certification requirements that the EU are attempting to ramp up negotiations to conclude the Mercosur trade deal. It is bad enough that the EU is willing to do a trade deal with a country that has much lower environmental, animal health, welfare and traceability standards but now we find out that the EU itself can’t even trust the arrangement’s they have in place to certify beef as hormone free to comply with existing EU Health certification requirements.
Beef Price Update 31/10/2024
Base Quotes Steer €5.15/5.25kg. Heifers €5.20/5.30kg. Higher deals and flat prices for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €5.30/5.50Kg. Cows €4.50/5.20kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 42 (20.10.2024)
| Animal | Number | Change prev wk | % of total | YTD | YTD Change |
| Y Bulls | 1,473 | ▲60 | 4% | 88,717 | ▼-7,965 |
| Bull | 465 | ▼-61 | 1% | 24,549 | ▲796 |
| Steer | 15,936 | ▼-1,249 | 40% | 570,670 | ▼-9,428 |
| Cow | 10,260 | ▲431 | 26% | 359,444 | ▲32,934 |
| Heifer | 11,778 | ▲22 | 29% | 421,466 | ▲18,122 |
| Veal-V | 15 | ▼-26 | 0% | 20,336 | ▼-10,319 |
| Veal-Z | 42 | ▲15 | 0% | 1,536 | ▲170 |
| Total | 39,969 | ▼-808 | 100% | 1,486,718 | ▲3,665 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 42 (20.10.2024)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | U3 | Change prev wk | R3 | Change prev wk | O3 | Change prev wk | P+3 | Change prev wk |
| Steers | 546 | ▲4 | 536 | ▲5 | 520 | ▲2 | 494 | ▲4 |
| Heifers | 551 | ▲3 | 541 | ▲4 | 536 | ▲6 | 493 | ▲8 |
| Y Bulls | 540 | ▲4 | 534 | ▲7 | 517 | ▲6 | 512 | ▲22 |
| Cows | 0 | ▲0 | 499 | ▲7 | 466 | ▲3 | 448 | ▲3 |
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 |
| 19/10/2024 | 521.8 | 524.5 | 519.8 | 524.4 | 509.2 | 509.6 | 381.6 |
| 26/10/2024 | 522.0 | 526.5 | 519.5 | 524.9 | 509.6 | 508.0 | 376.2 |
| Change | ▲0 | ▲2 | ▲512 | ▲1 | ▲0 | ▼-2 | ▼-5 |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 641.0 | 646.5 | 637.9 | 644.5 | 625.7 | 623.8 | 461.9 |
Euro Price for the Most Recent Week (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)
| Country & Type | 2022 | 14.10.2023 | 19.12.2024 |
| EU + Y Bulls | Not Available | € 4.89 | € 5.35 |
| IE + Steers | Not Available | € 4.59 | € 5.07 |
| UK + Steers | Not Available | € 5.60 | € 6.13 |
Live Cattle Exports 14th October
Sheep Update
IFA Sheep chairman Adrian Gallagher said lamb prices continue upwards as supplies tighten further. He said factories are very anxious for lambs and are offering deals well above quotes to secure supplies this week. To date spring lamb throughput is back 96,904 head and no surge of lambs are expected to come to market in the coming weeks. He said supplies of sheep meat produced across the EU and UK are also down this year and factories must stand firm and maximise returns from the market place for sheep farmers. Prices this week for lambs are making from €7.50kg to €7.90kg on weights to 23kg. Cull ewes are making from €3.80kg to €4.20kg in general. He said It’s a critical time of the year for sheep farmers and factories must return strong viable prices that reflect production costs on farms and ensure store buyers remain active at mart sales. The IFA Sheep Chairman said farmers should sell hard and avoid selling underweight lambs to maximise returns.
Lamb Price Update 31/10/2024
Spring Lamb €7.45kg/7.90kg. Weights to 23kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €3.80/4.20/kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 42 (20.10.2024)
| Animal | Figure | Change | YTD | YTD Change |
| Lambs/Hoggets | 100 | ▲10 | 897,651 | ▼-84,061 |
| Spring Lambs | 38,899 | ▼-3,160 | 1,005,901 | ▼-96,904 |
| Ewes and Rams | 5,465 | ▼-1,912 | 236,954 | ▼-40,707 |
| Light Lambs | 1 | ▲0 | 112 | ▼-26 |
| TOTAL | 44,465 | ▼-5,062 | 2,140,618 | ▼-221,698 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 42 (20.10.2024)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | This week | Change prev. wk | 2023 | Change prev. yr |
| National Avg Price | 861.14 | ▲15 | 675.73 | ▲120 |
| YTD Avg | 733.19 | ▼-1 | 624.81 | ▲111 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| R3L | Overall SQQ* | Type of lamb | |
| 19/10/2024 | 621.1 | 618.5 | New season Lamb |
| 26/10/2024 | 621.5 | 619.2 | New season Lamb |
| Change | ▲0 | ▲1 | |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 763.1 | 760.3 | 1 |
Live Sheep Exports 15th October 2024
