Sheep producers in Britain have endured a challenging week in terms of market performance.

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reports that for the week ending 23 June the standard quality quotation (SQQ) liveweight lamb price for new-season lamb fell by almost 43p/kg to £2.56/kg or the equivalent of €2.98/kg at 85.8p to the euro.

The reduction in price got progressively worse as the week progressed, with the SQQ on Wednesday 23 June falling by 57p/kg (66c/kg) to average £2.31/kg (€2.69/kg).

The SQQ price was marginally better on Thursday and was recorded at £2.35/kg (€2.74/kg), a fall of 51p/kg (59c/kg) on the previous week.

AHDB senior red meat analyst Bethan Wilkins partly attributes the weakening of market prices to an increase in supplies coming on to the market.

The number of lambs presented in British auction markets increased by 8% on the previous week to 97,700 head, with this figure representing a similar increase over the corresponding week in 2020.

British lamb prices suffer heavy fall

The standard quality quotation liveweight price for new-season lambs reduced by an average of 43p/kg, with greater falls recorded in the second half of the week.