According to analysis by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), new data on abattoir throughput from Defra shed light on current market trends for cattle, sheep and pigs, with market prices currently well up on a year ago despite potential clouds on the horizon.
The summer of 2020 has been marked by continuing strong market prices in the lamb and beef sectors, with the current average prime cattle price 15p per kilo above the five-year average, and Welsh prime lamb liveweight prices at auction still over £2 per kilo.
Pig prices have seen two months of decline from their peak, but are still significantly above last year’s level.
The latest figures show that total cattle throughput at UK abattoirs stood at 224,600 head for August – 0.5% below August 2019. However, the total for the year to date is similar to last year (up 0.3%) whilst beef production so far is up 1.9% due to slightly heavier carcase weights. The increase in production comes despite the market uncertainty caused by Covid-19, and is helped by strong domestic retail demand.
The figures for sheep illustrate the influence of religious festivals on demand. Eid-al-Adha fell earlier this year, leading to UK lamb throughput in July being up 18.5% on the same month in 2019, whereas this August’s throughput figures are somewhat down.
In terms of broader trends, throughput of new season lambs since May is up 2.9% on last year, however significantly fewer adult sheep were sent for slaughter during the same period. Total sheepmeat production for the year is therefore down 5.6% on 2019.
In terms of pigs, the recent ban on German pork exports to China has led to some uncertainty in the European market, and prices have fallen from their historic high earlier in the year, although they remain 8.9p per kilo higher than the same time last year. Throughput levels in the UK have also reduced somewhat in August.
HCC data analyst Glesni Phillips, said: “Retail demand in Britain during the summer has been strong, as consumers responded to marketing campaigns to try new recipes with red meat.
“Our lamb exports to Europe have also picked up as part of the foodservice industry there has reopened, helped by fewer competitor imports from the southern hemisphere.
“The abattoir throughput figures show that there is also a reasonably tight supply in the market. This combination of factors means that farm-gate prices are strong for now.
“There is a great deal of uncertainty in the outlook over the next few months. Further Covid-19 restrictions may again impact on the foodservice sector, and much will depend on the outcome of post-Brexit trade negotiations, with European markets still vital to both lamb and beef.”
Further analysis of market trends can be found in HCC’s monthly Market Bulletin, available here.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
