Demands strong price rise
IFA President Joe Healy has welcomed the news from Agriculture Minister Michael Creed on the reopening of beef exports to Egypt. He said this is a positive development for the beef sector and another market opened as part of the IFA campaign on market access over the last two years.
Joe Healy called for a strong beef price increase from the meat factories, saying there was a full clear-out of retail beef sales over the holiday period and factories are very anxious for cattle again in the New Year. He said a significant price increase is well justified based on strong demand and improved market and exchange rate returns.
The IFA President said winter finishers need a strong price lift as selling cattle out of sheds involves very high costs and at current prices these farmers are encountering serious losses.
Joe Healy said paid prices at the factories had moved a little over the Christmas/New Year period and €3.80/kg base for steers and €3.90/kg base for heifers was freely available and more being paid in places to secure numbers.
However he said prices in our main export market in Britain closed the year in a strong position with R3 steers making €3.62/kg and at the current exchange rate of 85p/€, this is equivalent to a price return of €4.49/kg including vat at the new higher rate of 5.4% applicable from January 1st.
