The national average weekly fair of price of small calves meat type males were sold in the week at 47 to 275 euros per head, according to FranceAgriMer.
This is €52 more than last year, same date, an increase of 20%. The price has gained €28 since the beginning of October, such an increase, at this time of the year it is unprecedented. Because from October to the end of February, the market is usually characterized by supply exceeding demand.
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Prices for mixed and dairy calves are also increasing
For dairy calves, same pattern.
The price of the small 45-50 kg dairy male calf reached €93/head, which is €23 more than at the beginning of October and above all 82% more than last year on the same date. Among mixed breeds, the same phenomenon, like the 45-50 kg Norman male which reached €77/head, a record for the season.
Fall in calvings in October
According to Idele which relies on SPIE-BDNI Normabev data, the births fell by 10% over the first decade of October, which partly explains this unexpected price dynamic.
“Spain has gone in a few years from a clearance market to a structural partner that must be honoured”
During the new 2024-2025 campaign (July to September), 899,000 dairy calves were born, or -2.2% compared to the 2023-2024 campaign, continues Idele. If we consider the calves available for fattening (males and crossbreeds), certainly births have increased cumulatively since the start of the new campaign (+3%) but they have fallen by 4.7% over the month of september. For nursing calves, only data for August are available via FranceAgriMer and births over the two months at the start of the campaign were already 0.9% behind the previous campaign.
A lack of calves on the Spanish market
Idele also relies on the quotation of small Spanish dairy calveswhich has been increasing since August, in contrast to the seasonal declines usually recorded over the period. Shipments from France through the Pyrenees have in fact been reduced since the summer following the FCO, type 3 and type 8. There is a real upsurge in this market, “Spain passed in a few years of a release market to a structural partner that must be honored” explains Idele.
