Weekly cattle & sheep market wrap – 21 November 2024

Key points

Prices for week ending 16 November

• The GB overall all-prime deadweight cattle price grew on the week to sit at 522.1p/kg, against a backdrop of lower kill.
• The GB new season SQQ averaged 649p/kg, up 23p from the week previous despite a higher kill number week-on-week.
• The latest data (12 w/e 3 November 2024) showed increased spend on both beef and lamb in retail.

Cattle

GB cattle prices grew across the board, as throughputs tightened. The average price for steers at R4L specification was 536p/kg, up 5.7p/kg on the week previous. An uplift was also seen in R4L heifers, with growth of 6.2p/kg on the week, to sit at 534p/kg on average. Looking at the categories overall, the greatest week-on-week growth was seen in the average young bull price, up 7.1p/kg to 509p/kg.

Estimated GB prime cattle slaughter fell back by 1,600 head, down 4.6% on the previous week, to total 32,400 head. This tightness in supplies likely lent support to the price. Numbers have been on a downwards trajectory for the past four weeks, suggesting we are past the autumn peak in weekly kill.

Growth was also seen in cow prices, despite slight growth in throughputs. The overall cow price averaged 352p/kg for the week, up 4.6p/kg week on week. Estimated slaughter of cows sat at 12,200 head, an increase of 100 head on the week.

Market reports suggest very firm trade, with high demand for cattle and limited supplies coming forward this week. The latest retail data shows spend on beef products increased by 2.5% year-on-year, due to an increase in average price (Kantar, 12 w/e 3 November 2024).

Looking forward, supplies are anticipated to tighten, with BCMS figures suggesting lower numbers of cattle on the ground moving forward. We will be updating our beef production forecast for the full year and looing ahead to 2025 in the coming weeks.

Sheep

Deadweight lamb prices increased in the week ending 16 November, despite an increase in kill numbers. The GB new season SQQ averaged 649p/kg, up 23p from the week previous and 59p/kg higher than the same week of 2023.

AHDB estimated kill for the week sat at 224,300 head, up 5% on the week before. However, the year-to-date figures remains significantly back, totalling 9.4million. This is down 8% on the same period of 2023.

As with cattle, reports suggest a strong trade at present, with meat key to demand. Some uplift in prices from Rungis market, on the week, point to supported export trade. Lamb saw a 6.8% increase in volumes purchased in retail, particularly driven by roasting cuts that saw an increase in both shopper numbers and volumes purchased per trip (Kantar, 12 w/e 3 November 2024).