The chair of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) Sheep Committee, Adrian Gallagher, has said that farmers should not be panicked by "unfounded negativity" from factories on market conditions.

Gallagher said that "the reality is numbers of suitable sheep for processing on the ground are extremely tight".

"Factories have very lucrative customers to service each week and simply must maintain and build on the prices these markets have become accustomed to paying for sheep meat," he added.

The IFA Sheep chair added that live exports of sheep are playing an important role in maximising competition for farmers, with 50,000 exported last year.

"This trade will continue to have a positive impact in the coming weeks and months providing viable alternatives for farmers to factories.

"Farmers should continue to sell lambs as they become fit, but shop around and strongly reject any unfounded negativity around market conditions from factories and their agents," he said.

Gallagher said market conditions point to a strong start for sheep meat prices in 2025 driven by reducing supplies in all sheep producing countries.

He was commenting following the recent Bord Bia Meat Marketing Seminar where reduced supplies of lamb across the European Union and from New Zealand and Australia were identified as the key drivers of the trade for the year ahead.

"With Chinese and US imports increasing from New Zealand and Australia, cheaper imports to the EU and UK markets should be diverted to these markets, helping drive demand for Irish sheep meat in our well-established markets," Gallagher said.