As processing demand for the Christmas kill slows, some abattoirs have pulled beef prices, with £3.43/kg payable on R4L steers, a drop of 2p/kg on the week. Such moves have angered farmers as tighter supplies and rising prices in other countries had Scottish farmers hoping for higher returns. The official AHDB price remains on £3.49/kg for an R4L steer in Scotland, a rise of 1p/kg on the week. Same grade heifers are down 2p to £3.47/kg, with same grade young bulls up 6p to £3.39/kg. Cows grading O-4L are up 2p to around £2.28/kg.

Abattoirs are paying farmers £4.25/kg for R3 lamb carcases under 21kg, meaning prices are unchanged on last week. The official AHDB deadweight lamb price is £4.29/kg for R3L grades, up 4p on the week.

However, finished sheep sold through the live ring have risen by 5p to £1.95/kg for medium weight lambs.

Heavier lambs are also up 5p to £1.85/kg, on the back of a strong wholesale and butcher trade. In total, 24,418 lambs were sold through the prime live ring last week, an increase of 2,435 head on the previous week. More than 7,906 ewes were sold, a rise of over 2,000 head on the previous week. Sale prices averaged £65/head, up £3/head. Aberdeen and Northern Marts sold 2,766 lambs last week to an average of £59/, up £1.30/head on the week. Across Scotland, continentals made £62/head, down £2. Cheviots made £50/head, down £2, with Scottish Blackface lambs averaging £48/head, up £3.

The national average sale price for store lambs was £56/ head, unchanged on the week for the 7,637 lambs sold. However, throughput has halved.

The number of store cattle through the ring dipped by 800 head to 2,338. Kirkwall Mart sold the most cattle, with 719 animals moving through the ring to an average of £1,200/head. The national average was £817, up £35/head.