Weekly cattle & sheep market wrap – 23 January 2025
Thursday, 23 January 2025
Key Points
- GB deadweight all prime cattle price lifted again to sit at 573p/kg for the week ending 18 January
- Further growth in the GB deadweight old season SQQ, reaching 736p/kg in the same week
- Strong demand continues to drive the market, as estimate slaughter numbers rose on the week for both cattle and sheep
Cattle
GB deadweight cattle prices grew again on the week, with the overall all prime price up 13p/kg on the week to sit at 573p/kg in the week ending the 18 January. Week-on-week price increases were seen in all categories.
The price for steers hitting R4L specification reached 587p/kg, an increase of nearly 16p/kg on the previous week, whilst the R4L heifer price grew to 585p/kg. The overall young bull prices followed the trend, reaching 552p/kg, up 8p/kg on the previous week.
Estimated GB prime cattle slaughter sat at 33,900 head for the week ending 18 January, higher on both the week and the year.
The overall deadweight cow measure hit 407p/kg in the week ending 18 January, up 16p/kg on the week to a historic high. This was alongside a week-on-week increase in estimated slaughter of cows, up 1,500 head.
Market reports continue to reflect the strength of the market, with robust demand for cattle, despite greater numbers forward, resulting in a flying trade.
Lamb
Deadweight sheep prices saw another increase in the week ending 28 January, rising by 12p/kg on the week to reach 736p/kg. This is 128p/kg above the same week in 2024.
Estimated clean sheep slaughter also grew on the week to 213,800 head, up slightly on last week (+1,400 head).
In a similar story to cattle, we continue to see strong lamb trade with good demand underpinned by a tightness in supplies. Full year data for 2024 showed that lamb production totalled 267,000 tonnes, down 7% on the year prior. This was almost wholly driven by lower slaughter numbers, reflecting the tightness in supply felt throughout the year.
Looking forward, we will be releasing our lamb market outlook in the coming weeks, which will outline our production, consumption and trade forecasts for 2025.
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