The Irish Farmers' Association has officially called off its dispute with the Irish meat plants which caused major disruption to the industry throughout October.
Just over a fortnight ago the IFA, which had been protesting outside selective plants against the low prices they were being paid for their cattle, halted the action for a fortnight as a gesture of goodwill to see if prices would increase.
Yesterday the president of the organisation, Mr John Dillon, said he had reviewed the price campaign with the chairman of IFA's livestock committee, Mr Derek Deane, as promised at the time.
A statement from Mr Dillon said the dispute had successfully turned around cattle prices and he was determined to keep a strong focus on prices for the rest of 2002 and into spring 2003.
The base price for cattle under 30 months had moved up to between €2.26/kg and €2.28/kg for lower-grade cattle, and some deals over €2.52/kg (90p per lb) had been secured at the weekend by beef farmers.
He added that some flat prices of €2.28 to €2.33/kg had been achieved, and the price for cattle aged over 30 months had moved up to €2.14/kg, with deals of €2.20/kg being paid.
Mr Dillon, who had led the protest, thanked the farmers who had supported the action and said the message had gone out that "there is strength in unity, and strength will deliver".
He committed his organisation to maintaining a highly active cattle-price campaign in the run-up to Christmas and into next year.
He said all the the cattle finished on grass had now either been sold or brought indoors for feeding, and this had left ready-for-slaughter cattle supplies extremely scarce, with a very strong market demand price, which he predicted would harden.
Mr John Smith, chief executive of the the Irish Meat Association, representing the meat plants, said the demand for younger cattle for Christmas in the UK market had resulted in a strengthening of prices.
"This clearly reflects what we have always said, that the market returns set the price levels which can be paid," he said.
Questioned about the price levels quoted by Mr Dillon, he said prices paid for cattle varied between factories and their individual suppliers and the quantities they supplied.
Prices were, and would continue to be, a matter for individual plants and farmer suppliers.