Lamb prices, up to the week ending December 5, were up by €1.75/kg from the same period as last year, according to figures from Bord Bia.
The average factory price for sheepmeat in Ireland for the week ending December 5, 2021, decreased to €7.00/kg, which is 6c/kg higher than the week previous and, as mentioned, €1.75/kg higher than the corresponding week in 2020.
Overall, Irish lamb prices in 2021 have performed very well, Bord Bia said, with the average sheepmeat price being €6.94/kg. This is an increase of €1.40/kg on the 2020 average price for the first 48 weeks of the year, which represents a 27% increase.
Looking to this past week, lamb prices have reached highs of €7.40-7.50/kg, with many lambs moving at prices between €7.10-7.35-7.40/kg.
Throughput
Figures from Bord Bia show that for 2021, Irish born sheep throughput levels since the first week of June (2021) reached 1,570,973 head, most of which accounts for lamb throughput.
This is 3% lower than the corresponding period in 2020, which stood at 1,615,873 head.
For the week ending December 5, 2021, throughput levels reached 52,153 head, showing an increase of 2,824 head on the previous week and 246 head on the same week in 2020 (+5% and +0.5% respectively).
Total throughput from the beginning of the year equals 2,519,346 head, representing a 5% drop from the first 48 weeks of 2020, Bord Bia added.
UK prices
Looking at our neighbours, British lamb prices for last week increased to £6.19kg – which equates to €7.28kg.
Northern Ireland lamb prices have shown steady trends and now stand at £5.53/kg, equating €6.57/kg, remaining the same as last week’s figure, Bord Bia said.