August 2021 NI beef prices
According to the Livestock and Commission (LMC), base quotes for in-spec U-3 grade steers and heifers “remained steady” this week.
Factory quoted 384-394p/kg for this category, while quotes for good quality O+3 grade cows ranged from 280-302p/kg.
“The NI deadweight trade for prime cattle came under pressure last week with the majority of grades decreasing from the previous week.”
August 2021 NI beef prices
The LMC reported that the average NI steer price was back 0.8p/kg to 392.5p/kg. The R3 steer price was back by a similar margin to 402.3p/kg.
Last week, the average NI heifer price reported a decrease of 1.6p/kg to 393.7p/kg, while the R3 heifer price held steady at 401.9p/kg.
Furthermore, last week’s average NI young bull price increased by 2p/kg to 385.1p/kg. To note, the R3 young bull price fell by 2p/kg to 393.3p/kg.
Meanwhile, the cow trade in NI showed some improvement. The average cow price increased by over 1p/kg from the previous week to 290p/kg. The O3 cow price increased by 2p/kg to 317.6p/kg.
Throughput
Last week, prime cattle throughput in NI plants totalled 6,509 – a decrease of 113 head from the previous week.
Meanwhile, cow throughput in NI plants last week was similar to the previous week when 2,023 head were processed in local plants. This is also similar to the 2,104 cows processed during the same week in 2020.
Exports and imports
Prime cattle imports from ROI for direct slaughter in NI plants last week amounted to 364 head – an increase of 62 head compared to the previous week.
Furthermore, cow exports from ROI totalled 171 head last week, up 35 head from the previous week.
On the other hand, no cattle were imported from GB for direct slaughter.
Exports from NI to ROI for direct slaughter remained low, with two prime cattle and 83 cows last week. No cattle made the journey from NI to GB for processing.
GB beef prices
According to the LMC, the deadweight trade for prime cattle “continued to improve” in GB last week.
Firstly, the average steer price increased by 2.6p/kg to 409p/kg, with the R3 steer price up by almost 2p/kg to 415.3p/kg.
“The differential in the R3 steer price between NI and GB widened from the previous week to 13p/kg.”
The average heifer price in GB last week was up by 1.9p/kg to 407.1p/kg, while the R3 heifer price increased by 0.6p/kg to 413.9p/kg.
“The differential in R3 heifer price between NI and GB last week widened from the previous week to 12p/kg.”
“The deadweight cow trade also improved in GB last week with the average cow price up by 1.9p/kg from the previous week to 294.3p/kg and the O3 cow price increasing by 0.3p/kg to 319.5p/kg.”
ROI
According to the LMC, the deadweight trade for prime cattle in ROI “came under pressure” across the majority of grades when compared to the previous week.
“The R3 steer price last week decreased by the equivalent of 0.9p/kg to 365.3p/kg bringing the R3 steer price differential between NI and ROI to 37p/kg.”
“The R3 heifer price was back by 1.7p/kg to the equivalent of 367.5p/kg, which takes the R3 heifer price differential between NI and ROI to 34.4p/kg.”
“The O3 cow price in ROI decreased by 1.8p/kg to the equivalent of 299.9p/kg, 17.7p/kg below the O3 cow price in NI.”
