Beef Update
IFA Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden said cattle prices remain steady with strong demand for forward and slaughter fit cattle. He said heifers are making from €5.30kg to €5.40kg and steers €5.25kg to €5.35kg. Cows range from €4.50kg for P grades up to €5.20kg for fleshed U grade cows. Young bulls are making from €5.10kg to €5.60kg. He said the beef market is strong and farmers should sell hard and ignore any negative messages or attempts from factories to weaking the trade. He said farmers would be well advised to shop around with prices up to 10c/kg in the difference between quoted and paid prices for all types of cattle. He said mart prices for forward store and finished cattle is strong and is providing a real competitive alternative for farmers unable to secure the higher end factory prices.
Beef Price Update 27/04/2023
Base Quotes Steer €5.25/5.35kg. Heifers €5.30/5.40kg. Higher deals and flat prices for larger and specialist lots. Y Bulls R/U €5.10/5.60Kg. Cows €4.50/5.20kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 16 (23.04.2023)
| Animal | Number | Change prev wk | % of total | YTD | YTD Change |
| Y Bulls | 1,686 | ▲47 | 5% | 41,245 | ▼-6,417 |
| Bull | 621 | ▲139 | 2% | 7,539 | ▼-223 |
| Steer | 12,955 | ▲1,335 | 40% | 189,770 | ▼-9,787 |
| Cow | 7,070 | ▲30 | 22% | 121,163 | ▼-658 |
| Heifer | 9,039 | ▲78 | 28% | 157,071 | ▼-8,185 |
| Veal-V | 801 | ▼-608 | 2% | 29,756 | ▲2,788 |
| Veal-Z | 39 | ▲16 | 0% | 769 | ▲89 |
| Total | 32,211 | ▲1,037 | 100% | 547,313 | ▼-22,393 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 16 (23.04.2023)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | U3 | Change prev wk | R3 | Change prev wk | O3 | Change prev wk | P+3 | Change prev wk |
| Steers | 565 | ▲1 | 553 | ▲0 | 545 | ▲2 | 510 | ▼-1 |
| Heifers | 572 | ▲0 | 558 | ▲0 | 551 | ▲2 | 500 | ▼-1 |
| Y Bulls | 551 | ▲1 | 538 | ▲0 | 523 | ▲0 | 514 | ▲0 |
| Cows | 0 | ▲0 | 512 | ▼-2 | 475 | ▼-3 | 456 | ▼-2 |
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 |
| 15/04/2023 | 497.6 | 498.9 | 496.7 | 499.1 | 490.9 | 490.3 | 407.6 |
| 22/04/2023 | 497.9 | 499.7 | 490.9 | 497.5 | 499.7 | 488.0 | 490.8 |
| Change | ▲0 | ▲1 | ▲1 | ▲1 | ▼-0 | ▲1 | ▼-0 |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 597.5 | 599.6 | 597.0 | 599.6 | 589.0 | 589.1 | 488.8 |
Euro Price for the Most Recent Week (€/KG Deadweight excl. VAT)
| Country & Type | 17.04.2021 | 16.04.2022 | 22.04.2023 |
| EU + Y Bulls | € 3.80 | € 5.13 | € 5.04 |
| IE + Steers | € 3.97 | € 4.82 | € 5.27 |
| UK + Steers | € 4.66 | € 5.19 | € 5.64 |
Live Exports W/C 10.04.2023
Sheep Update
IFA Sheep Chairman Kevin Comiskey said factories must deliver strong market returns for spring lambs and hogget’s in the coming weeks to reflect the high input costs experienced by farmers. He said Teagasc figures showed an 80% reduction on incomes for 2022 to just €7/ewe and production costs are projected to increase a further 1% in 2023. Combined with inflationary pressures factories must recognise these increased costs of production and the challenges facing sheep farmers and reflect this in prices paid for their produce. He said spring lamb throughput remains extremely low with numbers back 31% from the same period in 2022. ‘Despite the lowering of quotes, factories are anxious for hogget’s and are offering deals up to €7.60kg and weights to 23.5kg to secure numbers’. He said sheep production is the most environmentally sustainable food production system in the country and farmers must be fairly rewarded for this in the market place. Kevin Comiskey said farmers should sell hard and move lambs as they become fit.
Lamb Price Update 27/04/2023
Hogget €7.40/7.60/kg. Spr Lamb €8.00/8.20/kg. Higher deals groups/larger lots. Ewes €3.30/3.70/kg.
Supply Figures as Reported by DAFM – WK 16 (23.04.2023)
| Animal | Figure | Change | YTD | YTD Change |
| Lambs/Hoggets | 53,339 | ▲11,848 | 781,062 | ▲39,503 |
| Spring Lambs | 4,869 | ▲3,109 | 11,096 | ▼-4,918 |
| Ewes and Rams | 5,130 | ▲1,376 | 84,516 | ▲4,365 |
| Light Lambs | 7 | ▼-14 | 81 | ▲40 |
| TOTAL | 63,345 | ▲16,319 | 876,755 | ▲38,990 |
Official Irish Prices as Reported by DAFM – WK 16 (23.04.2023)
| c/kg (Incl. VAT) | WK 16 | Change prev wk | 2022 | Change prev yr |
| National Avg Price | 731.70 | ▲27 | 733.33 | ▼-2 |
| YTD Avg | 640.23 | ▲6 | 693.40 | ▼-53 |
Official GB Prices as Reported by AHDB
| R3L | Overall SQQ* | Type of lamb | |
| 15/04/2023 | 640.7 | 636.3 | Old season lamb |
| 22/04/2023 | 691.1 | 687.0 | Old season lamb |
| Change | ▲50 | ▲51 | |
| Price in c/kg (Incl VAT) | 829.3 | 824.4 |
Live Sheep Exports 01.04.2023
