New Zealand weather helpsScots sheep men

29 July 1998

New Zealand weather helps
Scots sheep men

NEW ZEALANDS weather is likely to help Scottish sheep farmers.

Farmers there are facing devastating floods among a range of disturbing changes in the weather caused by the El Niño phenomenon. Some sheep farmers have not seen rain for a year, which means lambs have been maturing slowly.

New Zealand frozen PM carcasses briefly dropped below 60p/lb on Smithfield Market two weeks ago. This wholesale price is reflected in imported frozen bone-in shoulder retailing at under £1/lb through some supermarkets.

A run-down of ewe numbers in the past season had already created a probability of tight supply to the UK next year. Supply could be squeezed even further as New Zealand farmers rebuild flock numbers by retaining some of the latest lambs for breeding.

• The Scotsman 29/07/98 page 28