This week's factory quotes sees beef price offers remain stable, with official quotes for prime cattle remaining largely unchanged for the fifth consecutive week.

Irish prices have been running below the average EU prime male cattle prices since December with the average Irish 'R3' steer price in the week ending Saturday, February 7, at €7.09/kg, 9c/kg below the average EU price of €7.18/kg and 29c/kg below the average UK price of €7.38/kg.

It has been a concerning start to the year for the country's beef processing capacity with news of two separate beef cutting and deboning facilities in the Republic of Ireland announcing potential redundancies.

In addition, in Northern Ireland, a beef retail packing facility also confirmed its intention to cease operations with over 300 jobs at risk.

Factory quotes: Heifers and steers

Heifers are being quoted at €7.10/kg on the grid, and steers (bullocks) are being quoted at €7.00/kg on the grid again this week, generally speaking.

At the higher end of official price offers, €7.10-€7.15/kg has been tabled for steers, and €7.20/kg on the grid has been tabled again this week for heifers.

These higher offers seem to be less available this week and are primarily being tabled in the north-west of the country for in-spec cattle with 300-400kg carcass weights.

Breed bonuses remain generally at 15c/kg and 20c/kg for Hereford and Angus cattle respectively, but up to 30c/kg remains available at some outlets for in-spec Angus heifers and steers with carcass-weights from 300-380kg.

Cow price

Cow price is steady again this week. 'P' grade cows are being quoted at €6.40/kg with €6.50-€6.60/kg on offer for 'O' grade cows.

'R' grade cows are being quoted at €6.70-€6.80/kg, and 'U' grade cows are being quoted at premiums of up to €7.00/kg in cases.

Bulls

Under-24-month bulls are being quoted at €7.40/kg for 'U' grades and €7.30/kg being quoted for 'R' grades.

'O' grade bulls are being quoted at €7.10/kg, while 'P' grade bulls are being quoted at €7.00/kg.

Under-16-month-old bulls are being quoted at €7.00/kg on the grid again this week.