Weekly cattle & sheep market wrap – 13 June 2024

Prices for the week ending 08 June 2024

Key points

• The GB deadweight all-prime average cattle price fell to 476p/kg from the previous week as slaughter levels rose
• The overall average cow price stayed steady, sitting at 361.1p/kg. Could the Euros provide some support to beef demand in the next few weeks?
• GB NSL SQQ price was hit by more supplies coming forward, with a fall of 42p to 808p/kg
• Exchange rate fluctuations have seen changes in the UK’s lamb export value

Cattle

The GB deadweight average all-prime cattle price slipped by 3.2p/kg from the previous week to 476p/kg. This is the largest weekly fall since the end of March and represents the lowest average price since September 2023. This sat 10p/kg lower than the same week last year but was elevated against years prior to 2023. Prime cattle numbers remain elevated on last year, with estimated slaughter sitting at 35,600 head for the week ending 08 June, growth of 1,900 head compared 2023.

Delving into the categories, the overall steer and overall heifer declines drove the majority of the average prime changes. The overall steer category dropped by 3.4p from the previous week to average 477.4p/kg, which marks the largest weekly decline so far this year. The overall heifer category saw similar declines, falling 3.5p from the previous week to 475.9p/kg. Young bulls saw a smaller fall of 1.3p to average 468.7p/kg overall.

The overall average cow price stood at 361.1p/kg in the week ending 08 June, a minor 0.1p fall from the previous week. Cow numbers remain pretty steady, sitting at 8,000 head for the week, similar to numbers seen in the week before the bank holiday. With the Euros starting this week, demand for grilling products could be supported throughout these two weeks.

Sheep

The GB NSL SQQ deadweight price saw another weekly fall to 808p/kg, a drop of 42p compared to the previous week. Despite this decline, the NSL SQQ value remains 134p above the same week of 2023. Tight supplies of old season lambs alongside a delayed new season crop have seen prices buoyant throughout 2024 so far.

GB estimated kill grew compared to the previous week, sitting at 163,000 head. Looking to the equivalent week in 2023, slaughter dropped by 25%, with the year-to-date kill down by 10%. In this current week, we could see some strength in demand from the Qurbani market, which could see growth in numbers killed for Eid Al-Adha.

One factor impacting export markets currently is the exchange rate, following the call for a snap election in France. This dropped the value of the Euro compared to sterling, which has temporarily raised the price of our exports. This was felt in the Rungis wholesale market, which saw a lift of around 20c across all UK categories from the 11 June, following nearly two weeks of stability. AHDB will be monitoring the exchange rate closely over the following days to determine the size and duration of this impact.

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