The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has called on all processors to maintain or lift their lamb prices during this time “when supplies have collapsed”.
It comes as new figures show that sheep throughput is down 16% for the year.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, just 36,643 sheep were slaughtered last week, down 1,588 head on the previous week and nearly 11,000 fewer than the same week in 2024.
Year-to-date throughput is down 232,921 head, which is on top of a drop of over 370,000 in 2024.
ICSA sheep chair Willie Shaw said that any move to cut prices would defy “logic, fairness and any sense of a functioning market”.
“It is one thing getting a bad price when there is an oversupply - but getting a bad price when there’s an under-supply is something else entirely,” he said.
Prices
Currently, farmers in France and Spain are getting up to €1.40/kg more in their lamb price, according to the ICSA.
Shaw added that things are reaching a tipping point for the sheep sector, calling on policy makers and processors to put more value on the sector.
“In just 18 months, over 600,000 fewer sheep have been processed as farmers cut back or exit the sector entirely because the figures don’t stack up. Meanwhile, the processors just carry on regardless, conjuring up excuses to slash prices further.
“I honestly can’t remember a time when beef prices were higher than lamb. Lamb has always carried a premium due to its seasonality and lighter carcase. The fact that cattle are now pulling ahead says it all, sheep farming is being slowly eroded into oblivion.”
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The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has called on all processors to maintain or lift their lamb prices during this time “when supplies have collapsed”.
It comes as new figures show that sheep throughput is down 16% for the year.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, just 36,643 sheep were slaughtered last week, down 1,588 head on the previous week and nearly 11,000 fewer than the same week in 2024.
Year-to-date throughput is down 232,921 head, which is on top of a drop of over 370,000 in 2024.
ICSA sheep chair Willie Shaw said that any move to cut prices would defy “logic, fairness and any sense of a functioning market”.
“It is one thing getting a bad price when there is an oversupply - but getting a bad price when there’s an under-supply is something else entirely,” he said.
Prices
Currently, farmers in France and Spain are getting up to €1.40/kg more in their lamb price, according to the ICSA.
Shaw added that things are reaching a tipping point for the sheep sector, calling on policy makers and processors to put more value on the sector.
“In just 18 months, over 600,000 fewer sheep have been processed as farmers cut back or exit the sector entirely because the figures don’t stack up. Meanwhile, the processors just carry on regardless, conjuring up excuses to slash prices further.
“I honestly can’t remember a time when beef prices were higher than lamb. Lamb has always carried a premium due to its seasonality and lighter carcase. The fact that cattle are now pulling ahead says it all, sheep farming is being slowly eroded into oblivion.”
Read more
Sheep price update: trade steady at €8.20/kg base for QA lambs
CAP 2028 farmer reaction: 'do they want us to be gardeners or farmers?'
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