Weekly cattle & sheep market wrap – 04 April 2024

Prices for week ending 30 March

Key points:

• Prime cattle prices slightly pressured on last week, while cow prices ticked up.
• Deadweight sheep prices fell on the week but remain historically high.
• Easter bank holiday impacted on kill days during the week, reducing slaughter numbers.

Cattle

Deadweight prime cattle prices were generally pressured in the latest week, with the GB all-prime average measure down by 2p/kg to 487.7p/kg for the week ending 30 March. The measure is now in-line with the same week last year. Breaking the prime category down, overall steer and heifer prices saw declines of -2.7p and -2p respectively on last week, while overall young bull prices grew by 3.4p. Overall cow prices saw growth on the week, up by 4.1p to 352.7p/kg, the highest price seen since mid-July in 2023.

All regional steer and heifer averages saw declines to varying degrees. Meanwhile, for young bulls and cows, Northern prices were the only averages to decrease on the week.

Looking to prime estimated slaughtering’s, levels fell to 31,000 head (-11%) due to reduced number of days for slaughter with Good Friday. From the same Easter week in 2023, slaughter numbers have grown by 600 head. Cow slaughter totalled 8,400 head, a decline of 700 head from last week, with Easter impacting slaughter days. Looking to the same Easter week in 2023, cow slaughter was largely stable.

Market reports suggest that beef demand has been more mixed following completion of Easter buying, while items such as mince have continued to trade steadily. Buying attention will be turning to the summer BBQ season; how the weather impacts this demand period will be a key watchpoint.

Sheep

GB deadweight sheep prices have fallen from highs last week, to 816.3p/kg. This is a fall of 22.5p (-3%) from the week ending 23 March but remains 233p (40%) higher than prices seen during the same week in 2023.

Supplies continue to be tight, as AHDB estimated GB kill sits just over 8% lower in the year to date compared to last year. For the week ending 30 March, throughputs fell 30% from the previous week, as Easter reduced kill days. More generally, industry commentary suggests that wet weather is impacting turn out and quantity of feed available.

UK lamb remains at a premium to its European counterparts at a farmgate level. Despite this, French markets have remained firm, albeit some stability in prices in recent days and softening in prices for more covered lambs. This points to sustained demand on the continent following Easter, with Eid Al-Fitr predicted for the 10 April.

The signing of the EU-NZ trade agreement will be one to watch when it comes into force at the end of May, as the EU is our main trading partner for sheep meat. We will be exploring this in more detail soon.

You can subscribe to receive Beef and Lamb market news straight to your inbox. Simply fill in your contact details on our online form.