6 days ago
Farmers hold all the cards when it comes to beef
Beef processors have been forced to halt price pulling due to dwindling beef supplies.
ICMSA Livestock Committee Chairperson, Michael O'Connell, has said some beef processors 'have sought to pull the wool over farmers' eyes' by quoting lower base prices for steers and heifers.
Processors have been quoting base prices of €7 for steers and €7.10 for heifers; however, an additional 20-30c/kg is available for farmers.
'Processors should be ashamed to quote €7.00/kg base price for steers when they are giving up to €6.70c/kg flat for P and O grade Friesian cull cows. That leaves a prime underage P+3 Friesian steer at the same nominal value as a P grade cow,' said Mr O'Connell.
Mr O'Connell went on to say that for the past 10 days, processors have felt the pressure on supply due to the end of shed-finished cattle and a slow start to cattle coming from grass.
'We have seen in the past month or so, kill plans being reduced as a means of controlling price and supply, but this can't last forever, and the demand for Irish beef across Europe is huge,' cautioned Mr O'Connell.
'I'm sure factories are praying that the 'calendar beef farming' 30-month age limit will convince farmers with January and February 2023-born cattle to consider slaughtering these shortly. But the weather is favourable and cattle are thriving well - there is no pressure to kill them… They'd be much better off just acknowledging the reality that we all see and go out and buy the cattle from farmers as opposed to going into the farmers' yards and looking foolish by offering obviously below-par prices,' said Mr O'Connell.
Noting that the numbers of cattle across Europe are at an all-time low, Mr O'Connell stated that Irish live exports have never been as strong due to our Bluetongue-free status.
'We are sure that the volumes of 2023 and 2024 born cattle leaving the country have added to the pressures on processors. Demand for Irish cattle is off the charts and is going to continue with predictions of the EU herd falling by a further 5 to 7% this year,' Mr O'Connell said.
The Livestock committee Chair also called for the 'big players' in Irish processing to recognise the value of Irish beef and live exports, with European counterparts able to recognise the high environmental and legislative standards Irish beef meets.
'For the last fortnight, reality reasserted itself, and we see the factories getting nervous about the numbers and unable to pull prices further. The pressure is on them; the old tricks and ruses aren't working because the facts are just overriding them. ICMSA's advice is: keep possession and only sell when they are receiving the true value of the cattle,' suggested Mr O'Connell.
Mr O'Connell invites farmers to study their options with finished cattle. He says that loyalty to processors should be gone following the price cuts of the last few weeks, and farmers should not take the first price offered to them by agents.
'The pressure is off farmers with the improvement in the weather; cattle are content and thriving, and the majority of silage has been cut. By contrast, the pressure on processors has increased and we're telling farmers to stand their ground on beef prices in the coming weeks,' concluded Mr O'Connell.
