Cattle prices rise again with Christmas in sight

After a short period of declines, Dutch cattle prices have risen again. This means that the Dutch market is moving differently than that of neighboring countries. Remarkably, the supply of cattle is very strong, indicating that the demand for beef, with Christmas approaching, is again strong. After the seasonal peak last summer, Dutch beef prices were under pressure for several weeks. The supply of cattle in the Netherlands has noticeably increased compared to the previous period. Dairy farmers are opting to slaughter more cows now that milk prices are weakening and concerns are growing about insufficient phosphate rights for the expected production this year. However, that price pressure has now lifted. In the Dutch Livestock & Logistics quotation, a slight increase of 5 cents is visible. The organization now reports a level of €5.85 per kilo for cattle of O-quality. Meanwhile, U-quality is recorded at €7.05 per kilo. Meanwhile, the price in Germany remains stable. For instance, the price of young bulls (Jungbullen) has remained unchanged since mid-August at a level of €7.00 per kilo for R-quality. The significant drop in the price of dairy cows in Germany has also come to an end. After a decrease from €5.90 to €5.70 per kilo, O-quality is now also stable.Holidays create new momentum Preparations for the holiday season are slowly taking shape, and the demand for premium beef products is starting to increase. Earlier this week, a precursor to the Dutch rise was already visible. At the livestock market in Leeuwarden, the quotes for slaughter cattle rose last week. This week, another increase was noticeable, this time even by 8 cents instead of 5 cents. What is especially remarkable is that prices are rising again while the number of slaughters is quite high. There has been a slight decrease observed. In week 45, the number of slaughters fell from 12,395 to 12,180. For now, the number of slaughters is substantially above the average level of 2025. To be precise, the number of slaughters in week 45 (excluding the very low number from week 1) is 19.7% above the average level of 2025. The slaughter figure is also 9.1% above the 5-year average. Given the rising prices, there is actually only one logical conclusion possible. Partly due to the initial preparations for Christmas, the demand has once again proven to be stronger than expected. The question remains whether this will continue after Christmas.