Don"t sell soft is best advice to beef farmers

The ICSA beef chairman Seán Scully has advised farmers not to be soft sellers of beef. Mr Scully pointed out that beef prices in the UK have increased by Stg 10p/kg since Christmas and that there is no need for downward pressure on Irish beef prices. 'Cattle continue to be scarce and farmers who have incurred substantial costs in winter finishing simply can"t countenance low prices at this time of the year. While opening quotes are tending to be around the 302c/kg (£1.08p/lb) for Rs and 291 (£1.04/lb) for the 0s, deals are possible at 308c (£1.10) for Rs and 297c (£1.06) for 0s. He also pointed out that the euro has weakened a little against sterling after reaching a high of 98p at the end of December. 'This morning (Monday) the euro has eased back to 94p sterling. Hopefully, this is a sign that it has reached its highest point and any further interest rate cuts at the ECB should help this. This should start to regain some of the lost ground on competitiveness.' 'In the long run, winter finishers will have to reassess their business given the failure of prices to match increased costs, but in the meantime, there is no logic to giving cattle away,' he concluded.