Sheep supply remains a major concern for processors, according to James Smyth of Irish Country Meats.

“We had hoped the flock might stabilise this year, but the indications are that there will be around 400,000 fewer sheep,” Smyth told the Hill Sheep Conference in Westport.

This latest reduction comes on the back of a 10-11% reduction in ewe numbers in 2025.

ADVERTISEMENT

That contraction in numbers was reflected in the overall sheep kill in 2025, which dropped by 490,000 head to 2.4 million animals when compared to 2024. This represented a 17% fall.

Smyth forecast a possible hole in light lamb supplies during March and April and urged any farmers with finished stock to contact the firm.

Bord Bia’s Seamus McMenamin told the conference that Ireland was not the only country to have experienced falling sheep supplies. He pointed out that light lamb output in Spain has dropped by around 6% year-on-year.

“There is a gap in the market there if we had more sheep to export,” McMenamin said.

Looking to the future, Connemara sheep farmer Brendan Joyce said that farmers will “continue to deliver the sheep if the price is right”.

“Price is king,” he maintained.

“I’m not being facetious, but price is really important. We ran into Ramadan this week; it was quite disappointing from the market perspective – especially for those farmers who made a decision to feed lambs on,” he pointed out.

“Spanish lamb at the minute is making €11/kg. I wouldn’t mind getting that – at €10.50/kg I’d take it,” Joyce said.

Meanwhile, high lamb prices are continuing to hit lamb consumption across Europe, the Westport conference heard.

Smyth estimated that consumption has fallen by 2-3% in recent years - which he described as a real “challenge” – while McMenamin said the outlook for 2026 was for a further 1% fall in consumption.

“In that situation we have to go to the marketplaces where they have the disposable income to procure lamb and that’s where our focus is,” said Smyth.