Unions push for tighter controls on lamb pricing

Farming unions from across the UK have called for a European taskforce to address the issue of market transparency in the sheep sector.

It comes on the back of concerns raised locally by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) about the price differential that exists between here and Britain, and a general acceptance that reported prices may not fully reflect the realities of the market.

The fundamental issue relates to existing European legislation which requires member states to apply a community scale (eg the EUROP grading system) and accurately report beef and pig prices, but leaves grading optional in the sheep sector. It means that while the UK must report sheep prices, there is no requirement to apply a standard dressing specification or check grading standards in meat plants.

While the main sheep slaughter plants in NI (Linden, Dunbia and ABP Lurgan) apply a consistent dressing specification, report their prices to DARD and have a voluntary agreement with the Department allowing them to check grading standards, there is much less scrutiny in Britain.

Instead, a range of specifications are applied, with for example, some plants leaving kidneys in at the scale, while others remove them. Many don’t report prices and graders are not independently checked.

There is also the issue of carcase weights, which tend to be higher in NI. With factories usually paying up to 21kg, the price reported for a heavy lamb will be distorted downwards. For example, a 23kg lamb paid on a quote of £3.20/kg to 21kg, actually receives £2.92/kg.

Last week, official prices showed a 42p/kg difference between here and Britain. While it must be accepted that there is a significant price gap at present, it is impossible to state accurately what it actually is.

Commenting, UFU beef and lamb committee chair Crosby Cleland said: “At the minute, there are not enough official controls in place to keep track of dressing specifications or price reporting within the UK sheep sector.

‘‘The level of price difference and the lack of transparency in the sector is clearly unsatisfactory and we are calling for a European taskforce to help address these issues.”

Imports

In his statement, Cleland also raised concerns about New Zealand (NZ) lamb, and in particular the amount of fresh lamb now coming into the market and directly competing with local supplies. At the time when the original trade agreement was put in place with the EU, which allocated NZ a fixed quota of 234,000t, they were supplying frozen lamb carcases. Frozen meat tends to have a lower price point than fresh supplies.

How NZ lamb is labelled by some companies supplying British retailers is also an issue, with Cleland pointing to cases where NZ lamb was labelled as ‘‘produced in the UK, from New Zealand and Australia’’.

“This is not only illegal but is also very misleading for consumers and we expect that the Government authorities must take firm action against those within the supply chain who are involved in such activity,” said Cleland.