Netherlands: Rise in beef prices is leveling off

The ex-farm price index for beef ended at 185 points in May, slightly below the record level of 189 in May 2022. Picking up global demand and high energy and feed prices pushed prices up. The consumer price index of beef rose further in July 2022 to a record level of 140 points (2015=100), an increase of 2 percent compared to May. The beef ex-processor price index fell slightly to 168 points. Prices for meat from the farm have also fallen. The farm-gate price index stood at 185 points in July 2022, a 2 percent decline over two months. Despite this slight decline, the sharp rise in prices during the first five months of 2022 meant that the average ex-farm price index over the last twelve months to July was 51 percent higher than in July 2021. It is the largest average increase since at least 2000. The total number of cattle slaughters in the first 6 months of 2022 is slightly above the same period in 2021. In 2020 and 2021, many countries have taken drastic measures to prevent the ...