UK Cattle and Sheep Market Update: Lamb Prices Rise

UK Cattle and Sheep Market Update: Lamb Prices Rise, Cattle Prices Ease

July 3, 2025 | Meatex News Desk

The latest market data from AHDB for the week ending 21 June 2025 shows diverging trends in the UK livestock sector, with lamb prices climbing while cattle prices softened

Cattle Market Overview

Prime cattle deadweight prices fell across all categories, with the all-prime average at 633p/kg—still 157p/kg higher than the same week in 2024 and 202p/kg above the five-year average.
Heifer prices saw the largest drop, down 9p/kg, while steers and young bulls declined by 8p/kg and 5p/kg, respectively.
Cull cow prices also fell by 7p/kg to 503p/kg, with slaughter numbers down 12% year-on-year.
Prime cattle slaughter dropped to 31,700 head, bringing the year-to-date total to 807,200 head, down 3.2% from 2024.
Store cattle prices rose, with native steers (12–18 months) averaging £1,335.70/head and native heifers £1,129/head.

Sheep Market Overview

The NSL SQQ lamb price rose by 25p/kg to 749p/kg.
Clean sheep slaughter increased to 182,400 head, rebounding after a dip during the Qurbani period.
Year-to-date slaughter reached 5.2 million head, up 3.8% year-on-year.
New season lambs now make up 79% of finished live market throughput, indicating the end of carryover supply.

These figures reflect a tightening sheep supply and continued seasonal shifts in cattle throughput.

Original data sourced from AHDB