AHDB: Store cattle price inflation remains above the deadweight market
Average prices paid in this category across all types have been on an upward trajectory since October last year, peaking in the week ending 6 April this year for continental and native steers at £2,100/head (+£737/head year-on-year) and £1,956/head (+£720/head year-on-year) respectively. This peak in prices for these older stores was seen 4 weeks before the peak in prime finished deadweight prices in the week of ending 3 May this year.
Since this point, average prices paid for 18–24-month-old store animals have eased week on week to stand as below for the week ending 13 July:
Reduced returns at finishing are likely to be a key driver of store price direction as average deadweight prime cattle prices have fallen back to levels seen in February.
Nevertheless, again much like deadweight prices, although these declines look dramatic, they are still very much elevated on the year, with the largest inflation as of the week ending 13 July being seen in the price of native heifers (+48% from the same week last year), followed closely by continental heifers (+47% from the same week last year).
The 12–18-month-old category has also seen incredible strength over the past 18 months, with average prices for continental steers peaking at £1,817/head in the week ending 27 April before falling gradually.
Despite the current lack of forage for much of the country; unlike the 18–24-month-old category, in the week ending 13 July, the average prices paid for beef bred animals in the 12-18 month category rose across most categories to stand at:
Year-on-year price inflation in the store market has remained mostly above that of the deadweight market since the start of 2025. Indeed, in the week ending 13 July, average annual price inflation for native store steers (12-18 months) stood at 42% compared to the overall average deadweight steer price inflation of 33% year-on-year. This points to the current strength of the store cattle market relative to finished, and the effect that this has on producer margins will be a key watchpoint over the coming months.
Reductions in cattle supply have materialised in livestock markets in so far in 2025. In fact, year to date cattle (including dairy heifers) aged 12–24-month numbers passing through markets in England and Wales are currently down by -11%, potentially going some way to explaining the price growth we have seen in both live and deadweight sales.
The animal types which have seen the largest reduction in throughput have been dairy steers. Continental type animals have declined in number across all age categories, which aligns with trends highlighted in BCMS calf registration data. Continental type animals have maintained their price margin over native type animals.
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