Beef Price Differentiation across GB, NI and RoI

For the week ending 18/01 the average R3 steer price was 538p/kg which is 60p/kg a head of the same week last year (2024).

With future demand and quotes remaining strong the outlook for beef prices is positive.

However, despite strong prices there is a significant price difference between NI and Great Britain (GB).

For this time last year there was on average a 20p/kg price difference on a R3 grading steer.

However, this year, week ending 18/01 the average R3 steer was 582p/kg which makes a 44p/kg price difference.

This equates to a loss of £167 for a 380kg animal.

Many reports from GB are showing prices well over the £6/kg across prime cattle further increasing the price differentiation.

This is a frustrating difference for NI beef producers despite NI’s beef end market being approximately 80% to the UK market and 20% to the EU market.

Therefore, despite NI and GB beef reaching the same UK market there continues to be an outstanding price difference.

While many beef producers accept there is always a slight difference in beef prices between NI and GB for a number of factors including the shipping costs of beef and live cattle, animal health regulations, cheaper supply of Republic of Ireland (RoI) beef, seasonal supply of cattle in NI, sterling and euro exchange rate, lower herd size compared to GB and cattle specification. However, this current price difference is totally unacceptable and if we want to keep a strong beef industry in NI we need to ensure our beef producers are getting fairly rewarded to maintain a sustainable beef industry.

Although beef prices are notably high on average, they need to align with GB prices for beef producers to overcome other factors including expensive input costs, generational renewal, environmental constraints and declining direct support payments.

For the RoI in the week ending 18/01 the average R3 steer was 491p/kg.

For the same time in 2024 the average price was 443p/kg, a 48p/kg price difference.

RoI R3 steers are 47p/kg behind NI and 91p/kg behind GB prices for the week ending 18/01.

The UK market was 47% of RoI beef exports in 2024.

The availability of cheaper beef in RoI usually results in curtailing NI beef price and therefore it is important that there are strong prices on both sides.

However, NI FQAS beef has the equivalence with the Red Tractor assurance scheme whereas the RoI assurance scheme does not. This additional benefit for NI beef should justify a greater alignment with GB prices.

Live ring trade continue to be strong with reports of finished cattle making up to £3.50/kg and above.

Farmers are therefore reminded that it pays to shop around for the best price and where possible the live ring should also be considered.