Deadweight holds strong with lamb at £6/kg and beef at £5/kg

Tight supplies of stock have been supporting lamb prices, with the GB deadweight lamb SQQ at 608.2p/kg for the week ending 20 January.

UK sheepmeat production fell 1.8% during 2023, while average carcass weights also dropped back by 0.4kg to 19.8kg.

Poor finishing conditions due to wet weather had a big effect on throughputs at the end of 2023, with UK clean sheep slaughterings down 8.2% on the same month last year, according to Defra figures.

See also: Strong stores mean beef finishers need £5.30/kg

In Scotland, livestock marketing group Farm Stock said hogg prices had continued to rise, with a base price of up to 610p/kg deadweight depending on location and specification.

The group added that demand was mixed between processors, with some still having lamb in storage from last year and not wanting to compete at current high prices.

Liveweight trade has also remained strong for the time of year, with prices nearing £3/kg at some auction markets.

AHDB analysts say there could be a slight uplift in Australian lamb entering the UK throughout 2024 following the free-trade agreement, as well as potentially more New Zealand lamb looking to find a home in the EU and UK later in the year.

Beef

GB deadweight R4L steers averaged 502p/kg and R4L heifers averaged 500.8p/kg for the week ending 20 January.

Meanwhile, R4L steers at Scottish abattoirs averaged 502.2p/kg for the week ending 16 January, according to Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).

QMS market intelligence manager Iain Macdonald said although farmgate prices remained about 2% below the highs reached in May last year, they have opened this year at 8-9% above levels 12 months ago, and 26-27% above the five-year average.

Mr Macdonald said: “Globally, beef production has been forecast to rise marginally in 2024 by the US Department of Agriculture, as continuing expansion in Australia and Brazil is offset by a 3% reduction in the US and a steep 6% contraction in Argentina, as well as tight EU supplies.”