Market report: Lower throughputs have limited impact

Deadweight lamb prices dropped sharply in the week to 18 September, despite lower throughputs.

The R3L price fell by 11.8p/kg DW to 356.1p/kg, although that was still 29p/kg, or 9%, higher than the same week last year. Throughputs eased by 7% on the week, to 44,888 head.

However, prices at GB auction markets reversed the previous week’s decline, rising by almost 4p/kg liveweight to an average SQQ of 157.2p/kg – almost 18p/kg above the same week last year.

Clean sheep slaughterings in August totalled 1.1m head, nearly 6% lower than in August 2009, said AHDB Meat Services‘ latest report. “This continues the trend in previous months; total year-to-date slaughterings were down 11% compared with the same period in 2009.”

The decline was most pronounced in Northern Ireland, where slaughterings in August fell by almost 55% year-on-year. In England and Wales throughputs fell by 5%, but in Scotland clean sheep slaughterings increased by 9% – although they were still 11% lower for the year to date.

“Ewe and ram slaughterings in the UK were nearly 8% lower during August, compared with a year earlier, and fell 6% in the period January to August compared with 2009.”