Lamb carcass weights are back 1kg compared to this time last year, with this being attributed to challenging conditions farmers have been faced with.
Speaking to Agriland about the current sheep trade and throughput now and into 2023, the sheepmeat and livestock sector manager for Bord Bia, Seamus McMenamin said:
“Lamb quotes are currently around €6.00-6.20/kg, which would leave us bang on in comparison to this time last year.
“There are fairly tight supplies available of finished lambs on the ground.”
“Of the lambs being processed, carcass weights are back on last year by 1kg, so you’re talking about 19.5kg being the average weight this year, while last year it was 20.5kg.
“And not only that, getting the correct cover on that lamb has been an issue. There has been a lot of lambs scoring with a fat cover of 2, whereas last year it would have been 3,” McMenamin said.
He added: “All of this is coming from the challenging conditions farmers have been faced with, particularly this summer where the drought has affected grass growth.
“Farmers have also been feeding less meal this year due to the high cost of it and that’s completely understandable.
“As a result of, these factors have slowed down the number of lambs available for processing.
“Lamb throughput is back roughly 82,000 head on this time last year.
“If we take into account the increased number of ewes seen in the last sheep census and with a good lambing season gone by, which resulted in little mortality, you’re probably talking 110,000-120,000 extra sheep in the system compared to this time last year.
“Those extra sheep in the system will likely see an increase in throughput in the last quarter of the year as well as a bigger carryover of hoggets into 2023.
“At the minute, supply and demand is dictating price, so it’s very difficult to predict what price will be like but all we can say is that we are seeing a weakening demand for Irish lamb in key markets,” McMenamin explained.