Price agreement slumps

It has been another difficult week for lamb producers during which they have seen a melt-down of the prices agreed to resolve their recent protest at factories.

A base price of 406 cents/kg (145p/lb) was quoted by factories towards the end of last week, down from the 475 cents/kg in the agreement which secured the lifting of the farmer protest at factories and carried through to the start of this week.

But the collapse of the agreed price had been signalled for a few days in advance by processors, who complained that it was not sustainable at current market returns for lamb and for hides. Meat Industry Ireland, representing processors, argued that the industry could not continue to subsidise the price being paid to sheep farmers. On top of the weak sheepmeat markets, skin prices have dropped from €8.50 per piece to €1.40, which knocks €7 per head off lamb prices.

In Britain, the new season lamb price has also dropped, to the equivalent of 447 cents/kg by the end of last week. In France, the market is very sluggish and there’s a lot of competition between home produced meat and imports from the UK, Ireland, Spain and New Zealand.

Irish lamb prices in France dropped back to 440 cents/kg last week, meeting stiff competition from French Lacaune lamb which is selling at 400 cents/kg.

Back home, the mart trade improved at Fermoy Monday, where butchers’ lambs made up to €45 over, and factory lots up to €40 over, but ranging back to €30 over.