The price difference between Irish and Northern Irish R3 heifers stood at 44c/kg during the week ending December 18, figures from the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) show.
This means that farmers in Northern Ireland were paid €123.20 more for a 280kg R3 heifer carcass then farmers south of the border.
In addition, the LMC league price table also illustrates the price difference between Irish (376.6c/kg) and British (429.5c/kg) R3 heifers, putting the difference between the two at 52.9c/kg.
On a 280kg carcass this is a price difference of just over €148/head.
Irish R3 heifer price below the EU average
Figures from the LMC also show that the price Irish farmers were paid for R3 heifers was 3.3c/kg below the EU average R3 heifer price of 379.9c/kg during the week ending December 18.
This puts Ireland in eight place on the EU R3 heifer league price table.
Source: Livestock and Meat Commission
Farmers in Sweden continued to receive the highest R3 heifer price during the week ending December 18, with a price of 454.8c/kg – this is despite the price falling nearly 30c/kg on the month before.
Britain retained second place with an equivalent R3 heifer price of 429.5c/kg. This was a 14.3c/kg increase from the 415.3c/kg paid during the week November 11.
It also shows that the differential between R3 heifer prices in Britain and the EU average widened from 39.6c/kg in the week ending November 20 to 49.6c/kg in the week ending December 18.
Furthermore, the R3 heifer price in Northern Ireland was the equivalent of 421.0c/kg which placed it in third place in the EU league table.
This was an increase of 15.3c/kg from 405.8c/kg in the week ending November 11, when the Northern Irish price also sat in third position in the league table.
The price difference between the R3 heifer price in Northern Ireland and the EU average widened from 30.1c/kg in the week ending November 20 to 41.1c/kg in the week ending December 18, it shows.
