Weekly cattle and sheep weekly market wrap - 12 September 2024

Prices for the week ending 07 September

Key points:

• GB deadweight cattle prices continue to rise, with each prime category registering all-time high prices
• The overall steer and heifer category reached over £5/kg for the first time
• The deadweight GB lamb price saw a fall of 9p/kg, but remains over £1 higher than the same time last year

Cattle

The overall average prime cattle price saw a week of increases, growing by 3.6p from the previous week to hit 500.5p/kg. This marks the first time that the average all prime price has reached over £5/kg and is almost 35p/kg higher than the same time last year. With the GB price reaching record highs, we have seen an increase in the price differential between ourselves and Ireland, with the price differential at its highest since November 2023.

Breaking down the categories, the overall steer price saw an increase of 3.5p/kg to end at 502.2p/kg, as the overall heifer price grew by 4.4p/kg to 500.2p/kg. The overall young bull price saw a more marginal increase compared to the previous week of 2.2p/kg to 491.8p/kg, again marking the first time the price has ascended above 490p/kg.

The overall cow price paints a more stable picture, with a minor decrease of 0.2p from the previous week, to sit at 358.7p/kg. This does remain elevated on the previous year by 37.4p/kg, as we begin to see some suggestion of seasonal pressures in pricing as cow numbers come forward.

Looking into GB estimated kill levels, all three categories of prime cattle saw increases, however this is comparing to a bank holiday week. Steers and heifers sat 1,520 and 1,200 head higher than the previous week, as young bull kill also increased by 440 head. The increase in price alongside elevated slaughter would suggest that demand-side factors are currently playing a key role in the market. Overall prime kill is also on the up compared to the same week last year, with growth of 2,900 head (10%). Cow estimated slaughter rose by 2,100 head from the previous week to 10,300 head. This could suggest the the seasonal increase in cow kill, as producers seek to market animals ahead of the winter period.

Sheep

The GB new season SQQ price fell by 9p/kg from the previous week to 655p/kg for the week ending 07 September. Whilst this is the largest decline seen in almost two months, the price still remains over £1/kg higher than the same period last year. This price decline could be influenced by the finish level in the lamb crop, with reports of leaner lambs coming forward.

The sentiment is reflected in auction markets, with reports of more light and lean lambs coming forward in the week ending 07 September that are not commanding a price compared to better fleshed animals.

GB estimated lamb kill rose by 15,750 head from the previous week to reach a 10-week high of 205,600 head. However, this is comparing with the previous week that saw reduced kill due to a bank holiday. That being said, this is the first time we’ve seen kill above 200,000 head since the end of June, compared to previous years which have seen slaughter consistently above this level. Given this, slaughter for the year to date to the 07 September is down just over 10% compared to the same period in 2023. This may suggest some green shoots of the new season crop beginning to mobilise, however, the market remains tight with reports suggesting that lower carcase weights are lowering overall production levels. This is a comment supported by Defra’s published carcase weights for July, back 8% from last year.

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