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Deadweight prime cattle prices cool, cow prices heat up
Wednesday, 16 June 2021
In the week ending 12 June, GB deadweight prime cattle prices continued to ease, while cull cows showed further strength.
The GB average all-prime price averaged 389.8p/kg in the week ending the 12th, down 1.7p from the week before. Falls were seen across all categories, with heifers showing the steepest decline overall.
More cattle came through GB abattoirs than the week before (which included a bank holiday), with estimated prime throughputs up 3% at 31,200 head for the week. Numbers were 4% lower than the same week a year ago.
The average all prime measure is still 31.4p above the price for the same week a year ago, and 39.5p above the five-year average. At this point a year ago, we had seen quite a notable rally in prices, as panic-buying eased and steaks were promoted widely at retail and through AHDB’s Make it Steak campaign.
Weekly deadweight price movements (w/e 12 June):
- Steers (overall): 390.8p/kg, down 1.6p
- Steers (R4L): 401.1p/kg, down 1.7p
- Heifers (overall): 390.3p/kg, down 1.7p
- Young bulls (overall): 383.8p/kg, down 0.9p
Cows on the other hand continued to enjoy further price increases, with the overall cow price up 4.8p on the week to average 284.8p/kg. Animals achieving -O4L spec gained 2.5p to average 299.3p/kg.
Strength is typically seen in cow prices during the summer months, boosted by demand for burgers and barbeque items. This could be being exacerbated this year by tighter numbers of cows compared to last year, and increased barbeque activity due to the Euros and hotter weather.
Estimated GB cow slaughter was 9,000 head for the week, up 10% on the week before, but 21% lower compared to the same week a year ago.
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