The latest sheep slaughter data reported by the UK's Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) points to throughput of hoggets - or what is classified as old-season lamb in some parts of Britain - increasing by 10% on 2021 levels.

Red meat senior analyst Rebecca Wright reports throughput at 864,900 head, which, as reflected in the UK monthly lamb kill graph, is in line with the five-year average figure.

UK lamb lamb kill

The adult sheep kill also increased by 10% year on year and stood at 95,000 head for the month of February.

Wright says the adult sheep kill has been recorded at an exceptionally low level since August 2020, although she has some doubts about the accuracy of the kill data, stating that there are several reasons to suggest it may be higher than has been recorded.

In addition to higher throughput, the average carcase weight of sheep is also running at a higher level, with the two factors combined underpinning sheep production increasing by 13% to 20,800t.

UK monthly sheepmeat production

As reflected in the graph, this has also brought production in February 2022 in line with the five-year average.

Demand forecast

The cull ewe trade has been vibrant in recent weeks and Wright expects demand to continue to increase for cull ewes in advance of the Islamic festival of Ramadan beginning on 2 April.

She also predicts that towards the end of March, demand for lamb for the Easter trade will start to build ahead of Easter Sunday falling on 17 April this year.

The AHDB analyst highlights that it will be the first Easter since 2019 which won’t be affected by COVID-19.