Spring lamb prices have taken a hit with factory quotes dropping a further 10p/kg this week to 450p/kg, although deals are still being made at 10p/kg above base.

Last week prices fell by 20p/kg to 460p/kg, which means £6 to £7 has come off the value of lambs in under a fortnight. The price drop has been caused by a number of factors. Demand is slow for new season lamb with local butchers and wholesalers the main market outlet at present.

With several marts closing over the Easter weekend and processors not killing sheep on Monday, this has created a temporary backlog of lambs., while south of the Irish border, there is still a sizeable number of hoggets to be processed.

However, some factory agents have indicated that hogget numbers are now tailing off quickly which will lead to processors and retailers switching to spring lamb in the coming weeks. This should harden the trade ahead of the main buying period for Ramadan which starts on 26 May.

Commenting on the spring lamb trade, UFU beef and lamb committee chair Crosby Cleland described current prices as “unsustainable” and highlighted the lack of clear signals from processors as to when they are ready to switch to new season lamb.