Lamb prices drop foot and mouth gain

LAMB prices have lost almost all of the recent gains in prices that resulted from increased demand in the wake of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Britain.

Prices on offer at the factories yesterday for lambs dropped to 360 cents/kg (128p/lb), a decline of 30c/kg (11p/lb) in a week as the returns to producers shed almost all of the gains of the boost in the aftermath of the outbreak and restrictions on exports imposed.

In the marts, there has been a corresponding decline in the trade, with yesterday’s sales slipping by up to €8/head on top of the continued decline over past days.

The decline in prices has followed a drop of around 80c/kg in prices for Irish lamb on the French market, where the returns were back to 480c/kg by last weekend and the decline continues.

The surge in prices brought a big increase in the supply of lambs to the factories and the live sales at the marts, a factor which has contributed to undermining the returns from the marketplace. Intake at the factories is running at 10% higher than the same time last year and showing an increase of about 50% on the supply three weeks ago.

The pattern has been similar at the live sales. There were more than 1,000 head on offer at Fermoy Mart. Prices paid continued strong relative to other regions of the country with the reduction limited to €3-€4/head.

Butchers’ lambs sold for €77/head to €91/head, which was equivalent to €26 over to €40 over. Factory lots made €54/head to €74/head or €20 over to €29 over.

There was a big sale of 1,200 head on offer at Kilkenny, where prices were back by €8/head. Butchers’ lambs sold for €24 over to €31 over and the factory lots ranged €22 over to €29 over.

The restrictions in Britain will be reviewed tomorrow.

Under standard EU regulations, normal movements including exports cannot be resumed before next month at the earliest with a number of conditions to be complied with in advance.