Anger over latest lamb price cuts

Written by Cian MacSweeny
Friday, 18 April 2008
Attempts by factories to slash lamb and hogget prices have been met by much anger from sheep farmers throughout Ireland. Sheep farmers have taken a serious hit over the last week, with lambs down €10-€15/hd in the marts and by as much as 35-40c/kg in the factories. Farmer representative bodies have warned that this latest price cut will even further undermine confidence in the trade and force earlier season lamb producers out of the business. "The most worrying aspect of this is that it falls into a pattern which has been repeated over the last few years. Lamb quotes open at an adequate level but the minute numbers start to emerge the factories pull the price," said Kilkenny IFA sheep chairman, Mr James Murphy. "If retailers and processors want an Irish sheep industry then we will have to see price stability at a level that justifies the effort and cost involved in producing new season lamb," maintained Mr Murphy. Mr Murphy insisted that the increased cost of fertiliser and feed this year meant that early lamb producers would need a minimum of €110-€120/hd to make the enterprise viable. Factories insisted that the price drop reflected weaker demand and stronger competition on the French market. Lamb prices in France have decreased from €5.80/kg to €5/kg over the last month and Irish exporters are continuing to face tough competition from Spanish spring lamb which is being sold for as little as €4.60-€4.80/kg. Increased volumes of New Zealand lamb are also undercutting the market. Processors were offering as low as 520-530c/kg this week, back from 565c/kg, but this was being resisted by farmers. However, processors have been accused of trying to drive the price back to €5/kg. Hogget prices have also eased, although not to the same extent. Quotes have dropped back from 450c/kg to 435-440c/kg. However, demand remains firm and factories were reported to be doing flat price deals and giving concessions on weight. While the overall sheep kill has remained surprisingly strong there have been suggestions that farmers are taking advantage of the good hogget prices by also killing replacement hogget ewes. Mart trade has been significantly weaker recently. In Tullow lamb prices were back from a high of €74-€75 along with the €1/kg to €50-€60 over. Mart manager John Murphy described the lamb sale as "seriously disappointing".

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