The 2022 year saw Irish sheepmeat exports, for the third year in a row, record volume and value growth.
Figures released by Bord Bia in its Export Performance and Prospects Report 2022/2023 show that Irish sheepmeat exports in 2022 were valued at €475 million, an increase of 17% on 2021.
At the same time, the volume of exports increased by 10% to reach 75,000t.
However, although the figures are positive, it won’t be of much comfort to Irish sheep farmers with lamb prices in 2022 not living up to expectations in a year of high input costs.
Bord Bia did say that it was a year of two halves, with global supplies of sheepmeat tightening combined with stable consumer demand contributing to strong prices for Irish sheepmeat producers in the first half of 2022.
The second half of the year however, Bord Bia said, saw higher costs of production and more difficult grass-growing conditions which had a negative impact on lamb performance and the availability of lambs for processing.
This lower availability of lamb for export saw a reduced demand in key export markets due to inflationary pressures on consumer spending power.
Irish sheepmeat faced increased competition due to a recovery in the availability of UK sheepmeat, as well as an increase in product from the southern hemisphere.