This is a subscriber-only article
Factories are pushing strongly to pull lamb prises paid below €5.00/kg, but it looks like the number of lambs available for slaughter will not allow this to happen easily.
Farmers are securing €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg including bonuses this week, but factories are aiming to keep prices at €5.00/kg and lower if possible. Base quotes have fallen across the board to €4.80/kg to €4.95/kg at the main export plants, down 5c/kg to 20c/kg on last week’s prices.
Kill down on last year
However, numbers of lambs coming out is substantially behind last year’s figures. The total sheep kill was 51,916 head last week, down 9,194 head on the same period last year, reducing factories’ scope to decrease prices.
The lower numbers coming out is reflected in the strong factory agent activity in the marts, as reported in SheepWatch below. Despite the reduced factory quotes, farmers who held firm are in general successfully securing higher prices because factories are finding it more difficult to source adequate numbers.
It was hoped that buying activity would increase towards the end of this month to coincide with the end of Ramadan. This may still play a factor in factory demand as the week progresses.
Disappointing Ramadan
Defending the reduced quotes, factories claim the market is very poor in France due to difficult weather and found the Ramadan festival to be disappointing in terms of lamb demand.
IFA national sheep committee chair John Lynskey said there is a strong reaction this week on the cuts to lamb prices, with farmers reluctant to move lambs at less than €5.00/kg. He said despite factories quoting less than this, they were paying €5.00/kg and more to get numbers.
Farmers are reporting poor lamb kill-out percentages this week and are putting this down to wetter weather and weaning, which have affected lamb thrive. Some farmers are now drafting lambs 1kg heavier and are paying more attention to flesh cover, as well as liveweight, as a result.
There has been an increase in the supply of lambs this week. Base quotes range from £360p/kg to £3.65/kg (€4.90kg to €4.97/kg). Farmers are securing 5p to 10p (7c to 14c) above base quotes.
The market was poor earlier this week due to the continued bad weather across France and the Ramadan period. There has been no sign of improvement in the trade. Prices are reported to be around €5.00/kg for both UK and Irish lambs. There has been a reduction in the amount of French Lacaune lambs available, with UK lambs mainly dominating.
SHARING OPTIONS: