Strong exports help lift farmgate beef prices above £5/kg
© Tim Scrivener Finished beef prices continue to break records each week, with deadweight steers and heifers both trading above £5/kg in late September.
Tight beef supplies across Europe have been underpinning UK prices as processors compete to secure stock, with trade sources indicating demand should remain high in the build-up to Christmas.
Prime cattle have also been selling well at auction markets with averages from the Livestock Auctioneers Association putting steers at 285p/g liveweight and heifers at 298p/kg for the week ending 28 September.
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Iain Macdonald, market intelligence manager at Quality Meat Scotland said: “The significant rise in prime cattle prices reflects intense competition among processors, as they compete for cattle while the weekly slaughter rate begins to trend upwards.”
Red meat exports have been supporting the market and are on track to achieve record levels again in 2024, according to Jonathan Eckley, head of international trade development at AHDB.
Mr Eckley said: “Beef exports have been the standout success in the first half of 2024.
“Demand from our major markets in northern Europe such as France and the Netherlands has remained robust, while the increase in volume of shipments to non-EU markets, particularly in west Africa, illustrates again the importance of carcass balance, with beef offal volumes up 10%.”
This was backed up by Hybu Cig Cymru analyst Glesni Phillips, who added that beef exports had seen strong momentum, with significant rises in value and volume during the first six months of the year.
Ms Phillips said: “HMRC data for the UK reports nearly 56,000t of fresh and frozen beef, worth £265.6m, were exported in the first six months of 2024, an 11% increase year-on-year with an increased value of 9%.”