Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap – 14 March 2024

Key points:

Prices for week ending 10 March 2024.

• The GB deadweight lamb SQQ continues to strengthen week on week, with growth in numbers forward compared to the previous week
• The all-prime GB deadweight cattle price fell slightly, as kill remained stable from the previous week
• Cow prices dropped minimally with slight declines in estimated kill for the week and on the year

Cattle

GB deadweight cattle prices saw slight declines for the week. The all-prime measure fell by just under 1p to 495.2p/kg. This was driven by a fall in overall heifer prices to 494.5pkg (-1.6p), with small declines also apparent in the overall steer category. Young bull prices saw growth to 474.2p/kg. Looking to cows, the overall price fell by 0.6p to 348.1p/kg after 16 weeks of sustained growth.

AHDB-estimated slaughterings show a slight fall from last week, as prime cattle slaughter fell by 100 head. Estimated heifer kill fell very marginally on the week but remains higher than 2023. Young bull kill fell nearly 5% from last week. Despite these falls in the past week, overall prime slaughter remains 1.4% higher so far than in 2023.

Defra statistics released this week shows beef production fell for February, as prime cattle and overall cow slaughter fell on the month, highlighting a tighter market place for February that is more balanced moving into March.

Sheep

The GB deadweight SQQ continues its ascent, reaching 743.7p/kg, a growth of 22p from the previous week. Estimated weekly throughputs grew 12% on the previous week but remain down 13% compared to the same week last year. Defra statistics show that total sheep production in the UK was down 7% in February (MoM), as the trend of lower throughputs continue into March. The SQQ measure now sits 237p higher than the same period in 2023, as AHDB-estimated throughputs are 3% down when comparing year to date.

The price now exceeds the highest price seen in 2023, as questions remain on how high the price can go in 2024 given the tight supplies. Anecdotal reports suggest demand through retail has remained robust with key religious festivals on the horizon, such as Easter and Eid, where large quantities of lamb are consumed.

Market reports suggest there is still support for lamb in our export destinations, as prices have held firm at a higher level over the last week, through key European wholesale markets. Australian and New Zealand prices continue as a key watch point for our import volumes and values, with reported challenges through both the Suez and Panama canals adding risk and uncertainty to imported volumes.

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