Lamb trade down 15-20c/kg

A weak start to the trade only worsened as the week progressed.

Lamb prices are going through a spiral of price cuts, with more being wiped off the returns to producers every week.

A weak start to the trade only worsened as the week progressed as the prices were further reduced and additional pain was added when the processors resumed business on Tuesday of this week.

A further reduction of 15-20 cents/kg in the quotes for this week's intake has brought the base down to 630 cents/kg across the country, with the bonus for quality to be added at 10 cents/kg for qualifying supplies.

The processors are blaming weaker market demand for the continued decline of the prices offered, which has also had the effect of bringing out stronger supplies as producers become fearful of worse to come.

This has had the effect of reducing any pressure on the processors to get sufficient to meet their requirements and contributing to a compounding of the situation.

However, on the more positive side the suppliers are reporting that 650-660 cents/kg continues to be paid by the factories this week.

On the positive side, the year to date the average price for lambs has been well ahead of 2021. However, the sharp drop over recent weeks has considerably tightened the margin ahead of last year. 

With in excess of €1/kg, equivalent to more than €20/head wiped off the return to suppliers over recent weeks, they are now feeling the pinch of meeting the higher costs associated with production this year.

Due to the bank holiday on Monday, the regular weekly live sales at the marts were not held, but the impact of the trend at the factories looks likely to have a dampening effect on the trade.