Welcome to this week’s AMT Meat Price Overview, proudly brought to you by John Deere.
This week, I looked at previous years with similar price trends in the pork industry, and found strong correlations between 2017, 2020, and 2022 and what we’re seeing so far in 2025. But what could that mean for pork prices going forward?
It also seems that sheep and goat prices are starting to come under pressure, and we’ll look at how the recent Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak in the Western Cape could impact prices. All this and more in this week’s episode.
🐂 Weaner Calf Market
The national average weaner calf price for calves between 200–250 kg held steady last week at R40.01/kg.
The Top 40% average price, which we use as a benchmark for the commercial market, declined slightly to R43.17/kg.
- Weaner steers: R36.14/kg
- Bull calves: R38.73/kg
Regional prices:
- Free State: R39.22/kg
- Limpopo: R42.79/kg
- North West: R42.65/kg
My feeling is that calf prices will likely remain around these levels for now and could soften slightly in December. Overall, though, I expect little movement for the rest of the year and into early 2026.
🐃 Beef Market
The AMT A2/3 slaughter price edged lower last week to R71.71/kg. These are the super prices, excluding the Northern Cape, where prices are currently around R63/kg. The C-grade price stands at R61.71/kg.
The Foot-and-Mouth outbreak now confirmed in the Western Cape is expected to support slaughter prices in that region due to reduced slaughter activity and animal movement restrictions.
Inland, prices are softening slightly, likely due to mid-month demand pressure.
However, seasonal trends suggest that super prices could still rise as we move into December when consumer demand typically strengthens.
If we follow last year’s price pattern, we could see A2/3 prices approaching R80/kg before Christmas, which would be very interesting to track.
🐑 Sheep Market
In the sheep market, the average store lamb price fell to R50.31/kg, with heavier slaughter lambs trading at R50.18/kg.
Regional averages:
- Free State: R52.19/kg
- Eastern Cape: R52.34/kg
- Western Cape: R52.00/kg
It seems that the sheep market is starting to come under pressure, and we may see prices decline further in the coming weeks.
The official A2/3 carcass price dropped to R108.28/kg, while C2/3 increased slightly to R83.65/kg.
AMT’s survey prices currently stand at R105.75/kg for A-grades and R77.43/kg for C-grades.
In some provinces, such as the Western Cape, slaughter prices are above R108/kg, while in the Northern Cape they’re closer to R102/kg.
Given this variation, the R105 level used by AMT seems a fair national average.
Seasonal trends suggest a slight dip this month, but we could again approach the R110 mark just before Christmas.
🐑 Wool Market
The wool market stabilized last week, with the 20-micron RWS price rising again to R207/kg, while non-RWS 20-micron wool traded at R188/kg.
The average RWS price stood at R204.01/kg.
In Australia, average prices rose by 6 cents to AUS $14.19/kg, with auction volumes down more than 10% week-on-week.
Finer wool grades led the gains due to stronger demand for premium products, while overall prices were also supported by a slightly stronger U.S. dollar after interest rates were left unchanged.
From a supply and demand perspective, we seem to be approaching an equilibrium point, and for now, exchange rate movements are likely to play the biggest role in price direction.
🐐 Goat Market
Goat prices pulled back sharply last week:
- Small goats: R65.25/kg
- Ewes: R52.94/kg
- Large goats: R32.97/kg
🐔 Poultry Market
- Frozen ex-abattoir chicken: up to R35.33/kg
- Fresh chicken: steady at R41.11/kg
- IQF prices: sideways at R35.65/kg
🐖 Pork Market
Pork prices climbed again last week:
- Baconers: R38.59/kg
- Porkers: R38.89/kg
- Sausage pigs: flat at R29.30/kg
When comparing price trends over the past few years, 2020 and 2022 show strong correlations with this year’s trend — and for baconers, 2017 also aligns closely.
By overlaying those historical averages with this year’s price movements, we see a potential outlook where:
- Porker prices could break above R40/kg by December.
- Baconer prices may plateau around R39/kg through year-end.
In short, baconer prices could stay stable, while porkers might still have some upward momentum left.
🥚 Dairy and Feed
- Graded eggs: R20.48/dozen
- Ungraded eggs: R17.70/dozen
- Milk: steady at R6.95/L
Lucerne prices:
- Grade 1: R3,800/ton
- Grade 2: R3,500/ton
- Prime lucerne: R4,450/ton
Chop prices softened slightly to R3,050/ton, now trading between R3,000–R3,100/ton due to higher supply.
Millers are running at high capacity ahead of the December holiday period, producing more chop as a by-product — which should keep prices around current levels for now.
🚜 Final Word
This episode is proudly brought to you by John Deere.
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I’m Dr. Johnny van der Merwe, and thank you for tuning in to this week’s AMT Meat Price Overview.