Irish exports
Irish exports
brake local
cattle prices
By Tim Relf
DONT expect finished cattle prices to improve much, with landings of Irish beef on the up and intervention volumes down to a trickle.
Last weeks intervention adjudication saw no steer meat and just 193t of bull beef taken into store. A far cry from the first tender in April, for example, when the steer quantity accepted was nearly 5000t.
Figures from the Irish Food Board, meanwhile, show that by mid-September, this years Republic of Ireland export slaughterings were 16% up on 1996.
Yorkshire farmer Nick Baker has been left disappointed by prices. Although briefly topping 200p/kg deadweight in August, his latest batch of one-year-old bulls, at about 360kg, made between 192p and 197p/kg deadweight.
And with liveweight averages at markets lodged below the 100p/kg-mark, Mr Bakers not expecting any rise in the deadweight trade when he sells the next lot.
"The only bright spots are the cheap cereals and by-products. Weve bought potatoes for under £10/t – at one point as cheaply as £4/t."
Auctioneer Paul Gentry at Newark, Notts says prices have suffered from the extra Irish beef and the recent adverse red-meat health publicity. "October could be a tricky month."
Supplies of animals arriving at market have, however, fallen, as long, wet grass and colder weather have slowed animals progress towards finishing.
"My advise to farmers is to sell cattle between November and mid-January," says Mr Gentry. "After then, Christmas credit card bills will hit the doorsteps and consumer spending could come under pressure."
Farmers, meanwhile, should be aiming to produce well-finished bullocks, at up to 620kgs. In the case of heifers, butchers animals should be up to 480kg, while more wholesale-type sorts no more than 540kgs, says Mr Gentry.
Meat and Livestock Commission economist Duncan Sinclair is not expecting any upturn in values. Although intervention tonnages have dwindled, farmers should maintain tight specifications, he says.
"They should continue producing animals of the weight and fat class that the market wants – and treat intervention as just a spin-off."
Helping put a bottom in the trade, however, are the tighter supplies, says Mr Sinclair.
Last years 4% decline in the breeding herd is likely to be followed by another similar contraction this year. The effects of the calf slaughter scheme are also now filtering through.
Peter Kingwill, auctioneer at Chippenham, Wilts suggests there may be a temporary upturn in values at the end of November and early December. "Thats when the big processors buy extra beef to put aside for the supermarket promotions."
• Prime cattle averaged 97.3p/kg lw at markets on Monday, down more than 2p on the week.n