British and Irish R3 heifer prices are edging towards parity, with the difference standing at just 3.7c/kg in the week ending June 4, figures from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) show.
This price differential meant farmers in Britain received €10.36 more for a 280kg R3-grade heifer carcass, than their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland.
At the end of the first week in June, Irish heifer prices increased by 9c/kg compared to the same week in May.
Irish farmers received an R3 heifer price of 417.8c/kg in the week ending June 4, meaning Irish heifer prices retained their position of fourth place in the EU heifer price league table.
This occurred in a week when the euro was the equivalent of 87.1p, according to the LMC.
This was a 6.5c/kg decrease from the 428c/kg paid during the week ending May 7, figures show.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of June the EU average R3 heifer price stood at 389.5c/kg. This was an increase of 1.5c/kg from the 388c/kg paid in the week ending May 7.
This means that Irish heifer prices were 28.3c/kg above the EU average price at the beginning of June.
The differential between R3 heifer prices in Britain and the EU average narrowed from 40c/kg in the week ending May 7, to 32c/kg in the corresponding week in June.
Source: LMC
At the beginning of June, heifer prices in Northern Ireland dropped to fifth place in the EU league table; farmers in the North received an R3 heifer price of 417.3c/kg. This represented a decrease of 2.7c/kg compared to four weeks earlier.
The differential between the R3 heifer price in the North and the EU average narrowed from 32c/kg in the week ending May 7, to 27.8c/kg in the corresponding week in June.
These price gaps equated to a difference of €11.76 (Britain) and €1.40 (Republic of Ireland) on a 280kg heifer carcass for farmers in Northern Ireland, LMC figures show.