Weekly cattle & sheep market wrap – 22 August 2024

Prices for week ending 17 August 2024

Key points:

• GB cattle prices continue to move higher, as R4L steers grew by over 5p/kg from the previous week to 501.9p/kg
• Estimated prime cattle kill grew by 200 head week on week, driven by steers, as we enter a seasonal period of tighter supplies
• The GB new season SQQ lamb price fell slightly by 2.5p/kg to 665p/kg but still remains elevated compared to last year

Cattle

GB deadweight cattle prices have seen another week of growth, with R4L steer prices boosted by 5.2p/kg from the previous week to sit at 501.9p/kg. This is the first week of the R4L steer price above 500p/kg since March. Similar price gains were also recorded for the R4L heifer price, which grew by 4.1p/kg from the previous week to sit at 500.7p/kg. R3 Young Bull price saw growth of 3.2p/kg from the previous week to 488.1p/kg. Both of these categories are now at the highest prices seen since March.

The GB estimated prime cattle kill puts numbers up 200 head from the previous week to 31,700 head for the week ending 17 August. This weekly volume still sits low in comparison to weeks prior in 2024, which is partly driven by a seasonal tightening in supplies, while industry commentary suggests that cattle supplies are tightening up, with some promotions helping strengthen demand.

The overall average cow price saw a minor upward movement of 0.4p/kg to sit at 354.8p/kg. However, the price has been generally trending downwards in recent weeks as the measure has lost 5.5p/kg in the three weeks prior to the 17 August. Estimated cow kill was up by 500 head from the previous week and year to 8,400 head.  This stability in pricing could be driven by robust demand in key product lines including mince and barbecue/grilling items.

Sheep

The GB new season SQQ sat at 665p/kg for the week ending 17 August, a minor fall of 2.5p from the previous week. Prices still remain 84p/kg above that seen in the same week of 2023.

AHDB GB estimated lamb kill dipped slightly compared to the previous week to sit at 184,200 head, a fall of just under 1,300 head. Compared to the same week in 2023, kill sits 22,400 head (11%) back, as we have seen 2024 kill down 10% so far this year. The new season crop has been slow and steady to come forward, with only one week in June recording growth compared to 2023 so far in the new season.

The volumes of new season lambs  through the live rings were reported to still be tight for the week ending 17 August. There were mixed reports across the week, with regional variations in quality but generally strong demand for larger lambs. Demand for export lambs looks strong across the board with prices reflective of this.

Trade data up to June shows that imports grew from May, with boosted volumes from New Zealand and Australia. Exports also grew into June, with continued demand into the EU proving strong for France, Germany, and Belgium. More recently, prices on the Rungis wholesale market are witnessing slightly more stability and holding week on week.

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