In what was a difficult year for Irish sheep farmers, it will come as no surprise to learn that the average prices for sheepmeat in 2023 were 20c/kg behind the average for 2022.
The average price for sheepmeat in Ireland in 2023 was €6.60/kg. This is 20c/kg behind the average price in 2022, which stood at €6.80/kg, according to figures provided by Bord Bia.
The highest prices this year were seen in week 26 (ending Sunday, 25 June), which stood at €7.62/kg.
However, this was a price that bookended by the lowest prices of the year in January (€6.00/kg), and a decrease in prices at the beginning of July that would continue for a significant remainder of the year.
The Irish Farmer’s Association (IFA) national sheep committee chair, Adrian Gallagher, said it has been a difficult year with lamb prices.
With the 20c/kg drop in the average price, Gallagher said this reduction in price has cost sheep farmers over €10m in 2023, and combined with the high input and production costs on sheep farms, it has continued to impact the sectors profitability at farm-level.
When comparing prices in 2023 to those of the last few years, there is a similarity seen in the second halves of the 2022 and 2023.
According to Bord Bia, lamb supplies for processing “tightened significantly” in the second half of 2023, which “helped keep a floor under the deadweight trade” and caused prices to operate “in line with 2022 levels”.
As seen in the above graph, prices did not go below €6/kg in 2023, which was not the case in 2021, as it occurred a number of times.
This lower prices during certain weeks may have been offset for some farmers in 2021, which saw higher prices for sheepmeat, and an average of €6.67/kg for the year.
According to Bord Bia, market demand for Irish lamb continues to be subdued in key export markets with inflation, higher levels of imports from non-EU markets and competition from other proteins continuing to impact the sheep sector.