The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has said that the recent upward trend in beef prices is both “necessary and welcome” for farmers.
The association’s livestock committee chair, Michael O’Connell said that factories are notably working on securing adequate supplies in the run up to the Christmas trade.
“We saw 5c/kg extra added to base prices as last week progressed with 510c/kg base price for steers and 515c/kg base price for heifers been paid.
“It also has been noted that some factories have paid in excess of this for in-spec bunches of steers and heifers while the standard breed bonuses of 10c for Herefords and 15c for Angus have been exceeded with 15 and 20c/kg respectively being the norm in most cases,” he said.
O’Connell noted that some processors have reverted back to flat pricing on Friesian steers, an indicator of tight supplies which he said is unusual at this stage of the year.
ICMSA
The ICMSA Livestock chair said that the mart trade has also “upped a gear or two this week”.
“All indications point towards factories knowing that unless they feed them in their own feedlots or encourage specialist feeders to feed them, they won’t have adequate supplies next spring,” he said.
O’Connell said that bigger kills on a weekly basis over the past month “is a false representation of the amount of under finished and light weight cattle being slaughtered”.
He said that shows “the vulnerable position factories seem to be in from a supply perspective which should benefit farmers”.
However, the ICMSA chair voiced his concern about the “dwindling carcass weights year-on-year”.
“The last year has seen carcass weight of steers dropping to a record low of 347kg from a record high of 360kg in 2020.
“Taking this into account with the number of steers slaughtered in 2023 at 693,933, this is a total reduction in carcass weight of 9.02 million kilogrammes of beef.
“The average price of all steers slaughtered in 2023 was €5.04c/kg inclusive of VAT, therefore, farmers have lost in a short period of time €45 million on these cattle.
“When you look at figures like this, one would have to ask what is the future direction of our beef industry?” he asked.
Beef prices
O’Connell also highlighted the price differential between the Irish and UK R3 steer which he said stands at €1.04c/kg according to the latest Bord Bia figures.
“We have State agencies and department officers jetting off around the world on trade missions selling our beef and lamb but why isn’t this differential being addressed, it’s the silent elephant in the room.
“It’s no wonder to this day that the UK are our largest customer for beef and when you see the price differential, it’s cheaper for them to buy Irish beef than stock the shelves with UK beef,” he said.
The ICMSA Livestock chair welcomed last week’s launch of the Meat Industry Ireland (MII) new charter for sustainable beef production.
However, he questioned how the viability of farmers will be benefited by the progress being made in sustainability at farm level.
“Farmers have made huge strides towards sustainability but are not being recognised for it.
“Sustainability goals also include slaughtering at a younger age. We all agree we need to work towards this approach but since the mantra has changed from heavier to lighter carcasses based on industry guidelines, it is not being rewarded at farm level.
“Lighter carcasses mean lighter cheques,” O’Connell said.