Beef prices steady as factories weigh up cutting kill days
While the first half of 2025 has been a very positive experience for beef producers, which was a dire necessity to restore some element of confidence in the sector, the processors were put under pressure, and inevitably will revise their supply contracts on volume and price forward at renewal time. File picture
The beef prices at the factories are holding steady this week, with the prices unchanged, while some of the processing plants are understood to be considering reducing the number of slaughtering days to adjust to the lower intake.
With no indication that the supply of cattle available to the factories over the remaining months of this year will recover to near the previous year’s level, the processors are believed to be considering their options to avoid becoming embroiled in an all-out ‘price war’ to get stock over the coming months.
Beef prices have eased a shade in the UK, which the processors are pointing to as justifying a tighter grip on upward movement on the factory quotes in the weeks ahead.
Consumers in the UK are also buying less beef as the prices continue to rise, with some tightening of their spend and the higher retail prices for beef now impacting on the volume purchases by customers at the supermarkets.
While the first half of 2025 has been a very positive experience for beef producers, which was a dire necessity to restore some element of confidence in the sector, the processors were put under pressure, and inevitably will revise their supply contracts on volume and price forward at renewal time.
So are the current prices to producers the new norm? It is very difficult to think otherwise, at least until there is a significant turnaround in the supply, which is not going to happen in the short term.
Base prices being quoted this week for steers remain at 750c/kg. While there are reports of some deals for heavy animals or larger numbers at a shade more, the factory agents are trying to stick with the quoted price.
Heifers are quoted at 760c/kg base price with some leeway for a few c/kg more for hard sellers. There is plenty of demand for the cows to replenish the low intake at the factories and the margin between cow and heifer prices is narrow.
This week up to 750c/kg is being paid for the well-fleshed R-grade cow with prices ranging between 740–750c/kg.
The intake at the factories appears to have steadied at the lower level, which is 5,000–6,000 head/week lower than last year. Supply last week was 24,315 head, down over 5,000 on the same week in 2024, reflected across all categories of stock.
Hardest hit are steers at 9,934 head compared to 13,889 last year and cows at 4,953 head compared to 6,775, while heifers are suffering a slightly lower decline at 7,185 compared to 8,304 head for the same week last year.
Although at a low percentage of the overall intake, bucking the trend were the young bulls at 1,667 head last week compared to 1,049 head last year.
