Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) said the Welsh beef industry is hoping that recent good weather will help boost prices after a disappointing summer.
HCC said the welcome warm weather may fire up garden barbecues after a dull July and August.
HCC intelligence, analysis and business insight executive, Glesni Phillips, said: “Prices in recent days have picked up again as back-to-school demand, along with fine weather, provided some much-needed additional impetus.”
Going into September, the average deadweight price for steers in England and Wales had recorded three consecutive weeks of price increases to stand at 460.5p/kg, HCC said.
“This average is some 29p higher than year-earlier levels and almost 83p higher than the longer term five-year average,” Phillips said.
“Looking back through the year so far, deadweight prime cattle prices were also very strong during the first few months of 2023 – but by late spring, driven largely by the cost of living crisis, the average was showing small week-on-week declines.
“Then the consistently cool summer weather impacted on demand for traditional BBQ cuts.”
HCC said data from Kantar suggests steaks and mince have still performed well but the total volume of beef sold at British retail was down 2% on the year and some 20% below levels seen for this period in both 2021 and 2020.
“However, 2023 sales volumes are higher than recorded pre-Covid (in 2019), which is a real positive, and it must be remembered that 2021 and 2020 figures included periods of lockdown during Covid, when the foodservice sector was closed and substantially increased sales volumes were experienced by the whole grocery sector at retail,” Phillips said.
