Mixed fortunes…

18 July 1997

Mixed fortunes…

GOOD and bad news for beef farmers this week.

Latest figures from survey group AGB show a continued recovery in household beef purchases.

The four weeks to June 29 saw sales 1% above the level of two years earlier – thats before the BSE crisis hit the headlines.

Last Fridays intervention round, however, saw a big scaleback of tenders. GB traders had total steer and bull beef tenders accepted at 696t and 440t respectively. (Nearly 3400t of steer meat had been tendered.)

The net effect was a slight weakening of steer values on Monday, down just under a penny at 100.26p/kg in England and Wales. Heifer prices fell a similar amount to 98.64p. Young bulls, however, rose 2p to average 100.41p/kg.