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GB auction markets
14 March 2024
These figures provide an annual summary of auction markets in Great Britain, showing numbers for both cattle and sheep. Due to the changes surrounding liveweight auction market reporting, this data will not be updated past 2023.
Latest update
Auction market centres by region, 2023
| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 72 | 23 | 25 | 120 |
Number of auction markets reporting cattle and sheep
Auction market throughputs by region, 2023
| Category | England | Wales | Scotland | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steers | 36,034 | 3,231 | 5,597 | 44,862 |
| Heifers | 61,034 | 3,739 | 10,126 | 74,899 |
| Young bulls | 42,606 | 648 | 1,496 | 44,750 |
| Cull cows | 77,843 | 9,316 | 26,674 | 113,833 |
Number of cattle relates to finished markets only
Auction market throughputs by region, 2023
| Category | England | Wales | Scotland | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New season lambs | 1,937,321 | 739,791 | 575,229 | 3,252,341 |
| Old season lambs | 1,480,860 | 413,327 | 462,093 | 2,356,280 |
| Cull ewes | 1,316,256 | 431,211 | 350,046 | 2,097,513 |
Number of sheep relates to finished markets only
Auction market cattle sales by region, 2023
| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,488 | 472 | 457 | 3,417 |
Number of sales relates to finished cattle markets only
Auction market sheep sales by region, 2023
| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3,208 | 1,203 | 626 | 5,037 |
Number of sales relates to finished sheep markets only
GB cattle auction markets by size, 2023
| Size band (head) | Number of auction markets | Total throughput (head) | Share of throughput (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2,500 | 48 | 37,162 | 13.5% |
| 2,501-5,000 | 13 | 48,035 | 17.3% |
| 5,001-7,500 | 8 | 49,394 | 17.7% |
| 7,501-10,000 | 3 | 24,947 | 9.0% |
| 10,001-12,500 | 2 | 23,082 | 8.3% |
| >12,500 | 6 | 95,274 | 34.2% |
| Total | 80 | 278,334 | 100.0% |
Numbers relate to finished cattle markets only
GB sheep auction markets by size, 2023
| Size band (head) | Number of auction markets | Total throughput (head) | Share of throughput (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-20,000 | 21 | 239,109 | 3.1% |
| 20,001-40,000 | 22 | 674,618 | 8.8% |
| 40,001-60,000 | 16 | 789,827 | 10.2% |
| 60,001-80,000 | 7 | 480,222 | 6.2% |
| 80,001-100,000 | 10 | 888,420 | 11.5% |
| >100,000 | 26 | 4,633,938 | 60.1% |
| Total | 102 | 7,706,134 | 100.0% |
Numbers relate to finished sheep markets only
Additional information
Source: AHDB, LAA, IAAS
Data in these tables relates to auction markets in Great Britain. The numbers are for a statistical year.
Contact us
This dataset was produced by our Data and Analysis Team. To find out more about the team, please visit the Data and Analysis team page.
If you need any further help, please email Dawn, Lydia or Sue at econ@ahdb.org.uk
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