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Deadweight Cattle prices drop back slightly but remain high
Wednesday, 9 December 2020
By Charlie Reeve
Prime cattle prices have dropped back slightly for the week ending 5 December. The GB all prime average totalled 370.9p/kg, down 3.9p on the previous week. Despite this week-on-week decrease prices still remain firm for the time of year. The all prime average is currently still up 42.7p on same week last year and 24.2p on the five-year average.
With intensified negotiations between the EU and the UK currently taking place, a high level of uncertainty remains when forecasting what will happen next.
Some industry reports have speculated that some UK supermarkets may be favouring Irish beef in the short-term. It is likely that cold stores are near full, with Christmas around the corner. But, are GB cattle on the ground being held “in reserve” should imports be interrupted come 1 January? This potentially implies that in January there may be a shift back towards UK beef in the event of no-deal or trade disruption.
However, it is worth noting there are many other external market drivers that could influence UK prices in January, such as fluctuations in the EU price, or exchange rates. Much depends on how negotiations unfold in the coming days. Recently released population data also shows tighter numbers of GB cattle on the ground, which will also be play a role.
Prices have dropped back across all of the prime groups with young bulls showing the largest week-on-week price decrease.
- Steers (overall): 372.4p/kg down -3.5p
- Steers (R4L): 384.5p/kg down -3.0p
- Heifers (overall): 371.1p/kg down -3.7p
- Young bulls (overall): 350.8p/kg down -12.3p
Cull cow prices did buck the wider trend however, with prices rising up by 1.3p on the previous week to total 220.5p/kg for the week ending 5 December.
Estimated slaughter was up marginally for the week totalling 34,400 head, an increase of 150 head on the week before and 1,600 head up on the same week last year. Estimated cull cow throughput is also up on the previous week totalling 12,400 head, an increase of 700 head on the previous week.
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