Beef price tracker 2

I went back and looked at that WhatsApp message again and it is actually from the Beef Plan.

I’m not a member of the Beef Plan and never have been but I’ve copied-and-pasted the message below as there’s some interesting figures quoted.

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*The Red Line in the Sand Base price for bullocks agreed in 2019 has been broken.*

 In 2019 the base price for bullocks that was generally agreed that factories would not go below was €3.60 \ kg. When you factor in the increased cost of inputs the price paid today is the equivalent of €2.95 \ kg

Put another way for farmers to be getting the equivalent of €3.60 a kg in 2019 factoring in increased input costs this figure today equates to a base of 5.65/kg for bullocks. The information below that is used to substantiate these figures has been obtained from Beef Plan's Purchasing and Producer groups and are real verifiable figures.

An example of 3 key inputs are used to demonstrate the rise in costs.

Aug 2019 v August 2023

CAN €214  CAN €345

Ration €234 Ration €370

Diesel 61c/l Diesel 93c/ l

Average costs up 57% 

Aug 2019   Aug 2023

Blks €3.60 Blks €4.65

Bullock base up 29%

When you factor in that input costs have rose substantially more than beef prices it means that the hard fought for red line in the sand price of €3.60 base for bullocks has been substantially breeched and now stands at the 2019 equivalent of €2.95/kg 

Aug 2019 Blks €3.60\kg

Today's 2019 equivalent  Blks €2.95/kg

With Average input costs 57% higher today than in August 2019 the base price for bullocks today needs to be €5.65 to be the equivalent of the 2019 factory red line in the sand price of € 360/ kg

Factories have forced a savage drop on cattle prices at a time when farmers have experienced a sustained period of record high input costs. While the cost of some inputs have been reducing they are still over 50% higher than they were pre the invasion of the Ukraine. Meanwhile factories have forced down cattle prices 70 cent/ kg since from a base of 5.35 for bullocks in April to just 4.65 today.

Not factured into the above calculations are the substantial cuts in farm subsidies that the government has forced on many beef farmers since 2019, with these added in the price drop would be even greater.

Because of the extent of the unprecedented input costs that farmers have endured farmers feel betrayed that they have been sacrificed. They feel that a red line in the sand as regards cattle prices has been breeched.

Blame for this has to be pointed firmly towards the gates of the factories. Factories whether they like to admit it or not have a responsibility to pay a price that leaves a margin for the primary producer.They have this responsibility because they are the next link in the beef supply chain.

Right now due to the extent of the price cut they have forced on farmes, not alone are they not doing this but they have crossed a red line in the sand that was generally agreed as a result of the factory gate protests of 2019.

In relation to all the promises that were made in the talks directly after the 2019 protests the reality is that very few of these promises have been honoured. The power of the primary producer in the Beef Supply Chain has not increased and we are still as far away as ever from having transparency in the industry.

With interest rates for farmer loans now hovering around 7% up from 3.8% in 2019 When many farmers look at their bank balances the decision to continue beef farming will no longer be in their hands.

Farmers are in real trouble at the moment and will have to make decisions as to where to go from here. The problem for the beef supply chain is when one link in the chain gets broken enevitable it will effect the other links.

In 2019 when the farmer link in the beef supply chain was broken it only took a few weeks for the supermarket shelves to empty.

Real decisions now have to be made by the various links in the beef supply chain that will have major implications for all.

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