UK: Higher sheep throughputs drive year-on-year production rises in January

Published 2023년 2월 24일

Tridge summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has reported a 19.7% decrease in the UK's sheep meat production in January, compared to December, due to expected supply and demand easing after the holiday season. Although there was a slight year-on-year increase in production by 0.5%, the average carcase weights were down by 2.8% compared to January 2022, likely due to increased input costs and dry conditions impacting forage production. Despite this, the throughputs in January increased compared to the previous year, leading to an estimated higher carry-over of lambs into 2023. However, there are concerns about the accuracy of Defra's slaughter numbers, and the Association of Cereals, Oilseeds and Protein Crops (AHDB) is working with industry partners to address these issues.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Last Thursday Defra released their latest figures for UK sheep meat production, with production totalling 21,400 tonnes in January. This was a 19.7% decline (-5,200 tonnes) from December figures. Production typically falls when moving into the new year, as supply and demand ease after the festive period. Year-on-year, production was up slightly by 0.5% (100 tonnes). Clean sheep carcase weights averaged 20.1kg in January, also following seasonal movements, increasing by 3.1% (0.6kg) on December’s average. However, compared to January 2022, average carcase weights were down 2.8% (-0.6kg). This follows the trend seen in the second half of last year. Adult sheep carcase weights also followed this trend, at 23.9kg, up 0.8% (0.2kg) on December’s figure but down 10.0% (-2.6kg) on the same month last year. The year-on-year decline may be explained by several factors. Increased input costs and dry conditions last year hampered winter forage production and cover crop establishment, while ...

Source: Ahdb