Unprecedented beef trade as prices hit £7/kg

The beef trade has lifted by 25% since the beginning of the year and continues to break records, with the R4L steer price lifting above the £7/kg deadweight barrier for the first time.

Finished cattle are trading up by more than £2/kg on the same week last year as buyers continue to scramble for supplies.

Some abattoirs have reportedly held prices in the past week due to fewer killing days over the Easter period, while other sites have lifted prices further.

See also: Hogg prices ease as more spring lambs come forward

Exceptional beef prices in the UK are likely to attract major exporters such as Australia, particularly in the food service sector.

However, emerging opportunities in China, driven by ongoing trade tensions with the US, could limit this shift.

Jonny Williams, managing director of livestock marketing group Farmstock, said cattle were achieving well in excess of £7/kg in Scotland and the market remained very competitive.

“People have been really focused on lambing, calving, and getting spring crops drilled over the past few weeks and haven’t really been pushing their livestock, so in the short term we will probably see a few extra cattle.

“We could see the price stabilise now for a while, as more young bulls come forward and fill a bit of a hole, but after that bets are off as to where the trade could go.”

A 350kg beef carcass has increase in value by around £700 in the past 12 months, according to NFU Livestock Board chairman David Barton.

Mr Barton said: “As a sector we should be expanding and reinvesting.

“Cattle numbers are falling despite increasing demand both domestically and internationally.”