GB auction markets

31 January 2023
These figures provide an annual summary of auction markets in Great Britain, showing numbers for both cattle and sheep.

Latest update

Auction market centres by region, 2022

YearEnglandWalesScotlandGreat Britain
2022 71 23 25 119

Number of auction markets reporting cattle and sheep

Auction market throughputs by region, 2022

CategoryEnglandWalesScotlandGreat Britain
Steers 37,023 3,800 4,315 45,138
Heifers 62,244 4,450 10,046 76,740
Young bulls 45,398 852 917 47,167
Cull cows 82,308 9,791 30,701 122,800

Number of cattle relates to finished markets only

Auction market throughputs by region, 2022

CategoryEnglandWalesScotlandGreat Britain
New season lambs 1,997,013 761,583 556,816 3,315,412
Old season lambs 1,384,447 389,173 424,172 2,197,792
Cull ewes 1,286,151 446,655 351,753 2,084,559

Number of sheep relates to finished markets only

Auction market cattle sales by region, 2022

YearEnglandWalesScotlandGreat Britain
2022 2,458 492 499 3,449

Number of sales relates to finished cattle markets only

Auction market sheep sales by region, 2022

YearEnglandWalesScotlandGreat Britain
2022 3,218 1,188 662 5,068

Number of sales relates to finished sheep markets only

GB cattle auction markets by size, 2022

Size band (head)Number of auction marketsTotal throughput (head)Share of throughput (%)
1-2,500 48 39,194 13.4%
2,501-5,000 13 46,697 16.0%
5,001-7,500 8 49,054 16.8%
7,501-10,000 2 35,776 12.3%
10,001-12,500 4 23,302 8.0%
>12,500 6 97,822 33.5%
Total 81 291,845 100.0%

Numbers relate to finished cattle markets only

GB sheep auction markets by size, 2022

Size band (head)Number of auction marketsTotal throughput (head)Share of throughput (%)
1-20,000 20 234,100 3.1%
20,001-40,000 20 580,328 7.6%
40,001-60,000 23 1,188,354 15.6%
60,001-80,000 5 365,116 4.8%
80,001-100,000 9 806,682 10.6%
>100,000 25 4,423,183 58.2%
Total 102 7,597,763 100.0%

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 and will be updated on an annual basis.

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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