Lamb throughput up 2% in 2023

The slight increase in the throughput of lambs and the sharp drop in the disposals of cast ewes indicates a shade more stability in the sector, writes market watcher Martin Ryan.

Around 4.9m head of sheep were expected to have been slaughtered by the end of 2023.

The throughput of lambs at the factories showed an increase of almost 2% over 2022 with around 4.9m head expected to have been slaughtered by the end of 2023.

On the contrary, the throughput of cast ewes and rams shows a decline of 11.6% to around 644,000 heads for the year.