Lamb trade strengthens as tight supplies support prices
© Tim Scrivener The lamb trade appears to have turned a corner, with tighter supplies and improved export demand helping prices recover in recent weeks.
Deadweight lamb prices plateaued during October, but have since risen to 674.9p/kg in mid-November.
Prices are currently 8% higher than at the same time last year.
Analysts at Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) say current throughputs are 20% lower than the corresponding period last year and reflect a slight tightening in supply following the highs of mid-October.
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HCC analyst Glesni Phillips said: “The UK sheepmeat industry is navigating a complex landscape of strong export demand, stable domestic production, and shifting consumer behaviour.
“While higher farmgate prices and export values are positive for producers, reduced retail volumes and a smaller lamb crop signal potential challenges ahead.”
Prices at auction markets have also improved, with the average liveweight SQQ lifting to 319.5p/kg for the week ending 8 November.
Ruthin Livestock Market in North Wales had an entry of 2,600 lambs on 11 November, selling to a liveweight SQQ of 319p/kg and an overall average 315p/kg.
Auctioneer Elfor Morris said the trade for well-fleshed export lambs had just crept up a little bit.
“It’s a job to know what is driving demand export-wise. It’s certainly those in-specification lambs which have been creeping up in the last few weeks,” he said.
“At the heavy end of the lambs, there seems to be quite a few numbers of those about, yet they are still returning good dividends.”
Mr Morris added that a flush of grass over the past five to six weeks was helping to fuel demand for stores.
Zanna Dennis, development officer at the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association (LAA), said there was no doubt the strength of the prime sheep trade was boosting the confidence of store lamb buyers.
Figures from the LAA show that store lamb prices in early November in England and Wales were up by £17.50 a head compared with the same week last year to average £106.40 a head.