Irish winter finishers are entering crisis mode, as pressure continues to mount on the Irish beef trade.
This week’s quotes are at €6.70/kg base price for bullocks and €6.80/kg base price for heifers – back 50c/kg in five weeks – with one factory withdrawing its Aberdeen Angus bonus in the last two weeks.
Losses of between €300-€500/head are now being incurred on finished cattle, with a number of larger finishers now refusing to sell until the price improves.
The Bord Bia prime Irish composite price has been dropping for the last number of weeks, with the corresponding prime export benchmark price rising during the same period. The Irish price was at €7.58/kg for the last week of December 2025 and has slipped to €7.33/kg by 7 March 2026.
On the other hand, the prime export price, which takes in all of the countries that Ireland exports beef to, has risen from €7.46/kg at the end of December 2025 to €7.58/kg by 7 March – leaving a gap of 24c/kg between Ireland and its main markets.
Supply
A supply issue has also reared its head in recent weeks, with factories delaying cattle being killed by up to three weeks in some cases.
This is against the backdrop of many now operating at a reduced capacity of two to three days per week and 62,589 fewer cattle being killed in 2026, when compared with the same period in 2025.
The total number of cattle slaughtered in 2026 has reduced 16% on the 2025 figure.
Irish winter finishers are entering crisis mode, as pressure continues to mount on the Irish beef trade.
This week’s quotes are at €6.70/kg base price for bullocks and €6.80/kg base price for heifers – back 50c/kg in five weeks – with one factory withdrawing its Aberdeen Angus bonus in the last two weeks.
Losses of between €300-€500/head are now being incurred on finished cattle, with a number of larger finishers now refusing to sell until the price improves.
The Bord Bia prime Irish composite price has been dropping for the last number of weeks, with the corresponding prime export benchmark price rising during the same period. The Irish price was at €7.58/kg for the last week of December 2025 and has slipped to €7.33/kg by 7 March 2026.
On the other hand, the prime export price, which takes in all of the countries that Ireland exports beef to, has risen from €7.46/kg at the end of December 2025 to €7.58/kg by 7 March – leaving a gap of 24c/kg between Ireland and its main markets.
Supply
A supply issue has also reared its head in recent weeks, with factories delaying cattle being killed by up to three weeks in some cases.
This is against the backdrop of many now operating at a reduced capacity of two to three days per week and 62,589 fewer cattle being killed in 2026, when compared with the same period in 2025.
The total number of cattle slaughtered in 2026 has reduced 16% on the 2025 figure.