As farmers in the sheep trade in Ireland have geared up for a long-awaited demand for lamb during the Eid al-Adha festival, which begins on Wednesday (June 28), it will ultimately leave many disappointed.
That’s according to James Smyth of Irish Country Meats (ICM), who said the highly anticipated period farmers in the sheep trade were waiting for was “a non-event”.
Referring to the trade this week, Smyth said: “It’s disappointing demand in a nutshell.”
The lack of demand, Smyth said, was “the culmination of increased UK numbers in the market”.
While the cumulative sheep kill to date this year is up by 2% or 23,272 head, the expected rise in demand for sheepmeat did not arrive.
Sheep trade – hoggets
While it was reported last week that a total of 956,382 hoggets have been processed to date this year – up 70,597 head or 8% on 2022 levels – demand for hoggets was low from factories this week, with Kildare Chilling providing no quote.
ICM is quoting €6.60/kg plus a 20c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus for hoggets, bringing its offering to €6.80/kg up to a 23kg carcass weight.
Spring lamb
For spring lambs, Kildare Chilling is quoting €7.70/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus up to 21kg carcass weight, bringing its total price up to €7.80/kg this week.
ICM is quoting €7.50/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, paying up to 21kg for a spring lamb, making its total this week €7.70/kg.
Other outlets are offering €7.65/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus up to 21kg, a total of €7.80/kg.
Cull ewes
Kildare Chilling is quoting €3.40/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus up to 43kg carcass weight, offering a total of €3.50/kg for a ewe this week.
ICM is quoting €3.10/kg for ewes up to 45kg, while other outlets have quoted €3.40/kg up to a weight of 46kg for a ewe.