Scottish cattle at a premium

By FWi staff

SCOTTISH cattle have continued to command a massive premium of nearly 20p/kg dw, according to the Meat and Livestock Commissions latest farmgate prices.

Cattle deadweight prices for R4L grade steers for the week ending 26 May levelled at 168.1p/kg dw, up nearly a penny on the week before.

In Scotland though, prices fell slightly, but still maintained a sizeable premium.

North of the border last week the same grade animal was fetching 181.7p/kg dw, a fall on the week of just over 1p.

The price difference has been mainly due to tight beef supplies in the area of Scotland designated as being free of foot-and-mouth disease.

This been termed the provisionally free area (PFA) and sits above the Forth/Clyde line.

Duncan Sinclair, chief beef economist at the MLC, said: “It is in the PFA that the supply shortage has been particularly acute and forced up prices.”

“This might ease from next week as cattle from a restricted area can then be moved to an abattoir in the PFA.”

This follows an announcement from the Scottish Executive last week to relax movement controls on animals in infected areas.

Details of the controls on movement have yet to be announced, but are expected either on Friday (1 June) or early next week.

Jim Walker, President of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, welcomed the move.

“Despite the extent of the cull in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders, there are still a large number of healthy cattle within the infected area which have not been able to find an outlet because of a lack of local abattoir capacity.”

No cattle in England could be moved to Scottish abattoirs because of the infected area stretching across the border.

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