ICSA beef chair, Edmund Graham, has said despite the slight increase in cattle prices this week, processors have “more to give”.
“The pressure is on the factories at the minute; markets are opening up and agents are competing for cattle.”
“Reports are coming in that €3.70/kg is increasingly attainable for certain types of stock and with numbers still tight, the scope is there for farmers to look for that bit more on price. ICSA believes there is significantly more available,” he added.
He said that demand at retail-level continues to be up and McDonald’s and other restaurant chains are coming back into play.
Beef exports to China and Australia suspended temporarily
The farm organisations said that it also understands that with some beef exports from Australia to China suspended temporarily, factories here “are on the lookout for Chinese-spec cattle to fill any possible void”.
“These factors, coupled with the squeeze on numbers, gives us a fighting chance at a decent price, but we’ll still have to fight for it,” Graham concluded.
