This week's factory quotes sees beef price offers cut by a further 10c/kg leaving most price offers 80-90c/kg below the opening 2026 beef price quotes.

The first full week of 2026 saw most factories put forward price offers of €7.00-€7.10/kg on the grid for steers (bullocks) and this week, those offers are at €6.20-€6.30/kg on the grid.

Procurement staff are saying there is weak demand for Irish beef in the market currently and are not ruling out further cuts to price offers.

Price offers for a 400kg carcass-weight steer have now fallen by €360 in cases since January.

Farmer confidence in the beef trade last winter and early this year was at an all-time high. and many winter beef finishers are facing significant financial losses on the high price store cattle bought in the past 8-9 months that are currently being sold at much lower rates.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

This week, heifers are generally being quoted at €6.30-€6.40/kg on the grid and steers are generally being quoted at €6.20-€6.30/kg.

This week is a short week as a result of the June Bank Holiday Monday but to date this year, bank holidays have not caused a significant drop in weekly kill numbers as most outlets are all operating at reduced cattle throughput.

Some farmers are seeing delays in getting cattle booked in for slaughter and procurement staff are prioritising booking in choice lots of cattle suitable for specific markets.

Angus breed bonuses are generally ranging from 15-20c/kg on eligible cattle, while Hereford breed bonuses are generally ranging from 5-10c/kg on eligible cattle.

Cow price

There is a range of up to 30c/kg in the prices being quoted for fleshed, 'P' grade cows this week.

At the higher end of the price scale, €5.80/kg has been tabled for 'P' grade cows, while at the lower end of the price scale, some outlets have tabled €5.50/kg for 'P' grade cows.

Interestingly, some outlets that were traditionally strong buyers for cows and bulls are not as keen for cow or bull beef this week, citing reduced demand for manufacturing beef as the reason, while other outlets remain keen for both cows and bulls with firmer price offers.

'O' grade cows are being quoted at €5.90/kg at the higher end of the price scale. Some outlets are offering €5.60/kg for 'O' grade cows, 40c/kg less than the stronger offers.

'R' grade cows are being quoted at €6.10/kg in general with lower offers coming in at €5.90/kg, while 'U' grade cows are being quoted at €6.00-€6.20/kg.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €6.50/kg for 'U' grades at the higher-end of the scale with other outlets tabling €6.30-€6.40/kg.

'R' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.40/kg with lower offers of €6.20-€6.30/kg also common.

'O' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.20/kg at the higher end of the scale with lower offers coming in 10-20c/kg below this. 'P' grade bulls are being quoted at €6.10-€6.00/kg.

Under-16-month bulls are being quoted at €6.30-€6.20/kg on the grid in general this week.