For the week ending April 14th the cattle trade continues to be underpinned by relatively steady demand with little change in supplies.

In general, steers were purchased at a base price of around €3.95/kg while heifers were making around €4.05/kg on the Quality Payment System with selected lots achieving more. These prices exclude the €0.12 bonus payable on in-spec QA animals. Looking at cows, O grade cow prices are generally in the range between €3.30/kg and €3.40/kg.

Cattle supplies at Irish export meat plants for the week ending April 8th totalled almost 31,000 head which was on a par with the equivalent week in 2016. Cumulative supplies of steers and heifers were 1% and 2% ahead of 2016 levels. Young bulls were down by 11% while year to date supply of cows were up 16% on year previous levels. Overall total cumulative supplies of cattle were standing at around 457,000 head which was up 2% or almost 11,000 head on the corresponding period in 2016. The latest carcase weights for the first quarter of 2017 showed a 2% decline in prime cattle carcase weights compared to the same period in 2016.

In the UK, a firm trade was reported this week. Cattle prices from the AHDB remain relatively steady in sterling terms and R4L grade steers are averaging at 356.5 pence/kg dw. This is equivalent to 420.06 cent/kg for the week ended April 8th. Looking at exchange rates €1 was making on average 85.2 pence sterling during the week.

In France, a further increase was reported in the trade on the back of a seasonal upward shift in demand due to Easter. Demand was highest for domestically produced produce and retail promotions focused on rump, ribs and loins produced in France. Meanwhile in Italy the market has shown little change with consumption remaining stagnant. Demand over the last week was reported as strongest for cow hindquarters. 

View Summary of meat plant prices here