Market report: Prime cattle throughput up in September

UK prime cattle slaughterings continued to rise in September, with the latest DEFRA statistics putting throughputs at 171,000 head – 9% higher than this time last year.

Young bulls were still behind the increase because of more dairy bull calves being finished in the UK. Numbers rose by 23%, year-on-year, to 27,000 head. Heifer throughputs increased 6%, to 59,000 head, with steers up by almost 7%, to 85,000. The number of cows and adult bulls slaughtered increased by 1%, to 47,000 head.

Young bull carcass weights were 1.5% lighter than September 2009, but heifers were 2% heavier, helping beef and veal production to rise by 11% year-on-year, and 9% on the month, to 74,000t.

Clean sheep slaughterings maintained their decline, falling 7%, year-on-year, to 1.12m head. Throughputs of ewes and rams dropped by almost 6%, to 162,000 head, resulting in a 6% fall in mutton and lamb production, to 25,000t in September – the same as in August.

Clean pig slaughterings increased by 5% on the year, to 728,000 head. Although carcass weights increased by 0.8kg compared to August, they were 0.4kg lower than September last year, at 78.9kg. Production increased by 5%, year-on-year, to 60,000t.