Current prices an insult to farmers
Current prices an insult to farmers
By Andrew Shirley
CURRENT lamb prices are unsustainable and may force sheep farmers to question their commitment to the industry, warns a senior NFU analyst.
Values have slipped significantly since the middle of September and as FARMERS WEEKLY went to Press were languishing at a mere 141.3p/kg – a 17% drop on last years price. "These figures are insulting to producers who have lived through the foot-and-mouth crisis," says Kevin Pearce, head of livestock at the organisation.
"It doesnt make sense when you compare farmgate prices with a supermarket shelf price that has hardly fallen. Consumers wont understand why farmers are complaining. Some questions about the supply chain need to be asked."
However, Kevin Hawkins, communications director at Safeway, says oversupply and not the supermarkets are to blame. "The price we are paying our suppliers has not dropped at all."
John Thorley, head of the National Sheep Association, doesnt agree. "It is not in the interests of middlemen to force down prices. The supermarkets are the ones with a grip on the markets, the rest of us dont have that, so who is pushing prices down?"
But Mr Hawkins says looking for profiteers is not a rewarding process. "We can all point the finger and blame each other for low prices but it wont put a penny on the price of lamb. There are too many lambs in the UK."
Although he also believes uncertainty is keeping prices artificially low. "I do feel that prices will come back up soon and could be more than £2/kg after Christmas.
"Something does need to be done about the farmgate price, but for now producers just need to hang in there and wait for prices to rise."
However, a spokeswoman at the Meat and Livestock Commission was less optimistic. "I cant see it improving until the export market resumes." But she says part of the price slump could be due to farmers marketing lambs after the optimum slaughter date.
• Lamb numbers going into the governments light lamb scheme are slowly creeping up – as of Monday 310,615 animals had entered the scheme, but the total number is likely to fall far short of the expected 2.5m, says the Intervention Board. *