April 19, 2013

EU cattle prices continue to set records due to tight supply and strong demand.

Based on data by the EU commission, R3 steer beef cattle have averaged US$559.14 per hundred kilogramme in March, a record monthly average. In the UK, cattle prices continue to break records, with prime cattle in Great Britain reaching a rise of 14% on-year.

The UK, the third largest beef producer in the EU, is seeing tight cattle supplies. Continual strong demand have driven cattle prices upwards over the past year. Steer and heifer slaughter declined 3.9% and 2.3% on-year, respectively over the January and February period. As a result, the UK's cattle herd has dropped from 10.5 million in 2003, to 9.7 million in 2012, according to the EU Commission.

Meanwhile, cow prices in the UK, and the EU, have also set records in recent times. Cow slaughter has increased by 7.1% on-year over the January – February 2013 period.

Australian beef exports to the EU increased 39% in the first quarter of 2013 when compared on-year, at 3,438 tonnes. Grain-fed shipments drove the increase by 94% on-year, at 2,081 tonnes. Interestingly, Australian manufacturing beef exports to the EU reached record levels in 2012, at 969 tonnes, well above the 84 tonnes shipped in 2011.