Paying more for meat: Record prices for beef cattle a boost for farmers but has consumers seeing red.
STEAK lovers aren’t happy but beef cattle farmers are cashing in on record prices at Hunter saleyards.
Stock prices are between 80¢ and 90¢ a kilogram above the three-year-high in January.
Restockers in Maitland are paying up to $1.40 more a kilogram than they were seven months ago, while buyers in Singleton are paying an average of $4.47 to $4.54 a kilogram.
That means consumers are paying about $5 extra a kilogram for scotch fillet than they were earlier this year, with the price rising from $28 a kilogram to $33 in four months.
Some Hunter supermarkets are already charging $40 a kilogram.
East Maitland butcher Neal Eastley expects customers who shop at independent butchers will be paying the same price by Christmas.
‘‘We’re cheaper than the supermarkets because we buy the cattle but customers still aren’t happy,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s going to mean the battler is going to have to pay top dollar just to eat meat.’’
Hunter and Sydney butchers are paying at least a dollar extra for every kilogram and the cost has to be passed onto the consumer, Bowe and Lidbury stock and station agent Rodney McDonald said.
‘‘Abattoirs have to keep their kills going every day so they have to pay more,’’ he said.
‘‘Butchers are talking about putting the prices up, they can’t do it overnight but there will be a gradual increase.’’
Maitland Saleyards have seen 20per cent more cattle sold than this time last year and yards in Scone and Singleton have seen a 10per cent rise.
Recent rain in western NSW and cheaper prices than at major saleyards like Tamworth and Dubbo is bringing more buyers to the Hunter.
‘‘Demand for young cattle continues to be strong and has far outweighed supply,’’ National Livestock Reporting Service operational manager Damon Holmes said. ‘‘We’ve seen record prices that kicked off strong in January and we’re seeing buyers who are looking for finished cattle with a good weight.’’
Strong prices are good for livestock agents and the beef industry’s ancillary services such as businesses that transport cattle.
Tony Bowe, who founded Bowe and Lidbury in 1989, said the market was likely to ‘‘stay up and get dearer’’.
‘‘We’ve got to remember that cattle were too cheap for far too long,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re seeing more cattle through the yards now because last year cattle prices were so low that farmers decided to hang onto them.’’
Mr Bowe said the April super storm had also boosted the number of cattle being sold because farmers who lost their pastures had been forced to de-stock and wait for the feed to grow.
Producers who lost their pastures and had stock to sell have enjoyed the extra cash-flow.
‘‘Everything gets its turn, it’s a cycle and now it’s time for beef farmers to enjoy better prices,’’ Mr McDonald said.
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