Sheep expensive due to tight supply in Europe

Published Jun 14, 2024

Tridge summary

The article discusses the upcoming Feast of Sacrifice, a tradition that involves the slaughter of many sheep, and its impact on the European sheep market. Despite the event usually driving up prices, the Netherlands has a good supply of sheep for slaughter, leading to limited price incentive. The high prices in Europe are due to strong consumer demand and a tight supply, exacerbated by factors such as reduced breeding ewes in the UK, increased lamb loss, and Brexit leading to fewer imports of lambs. The market's future remains uncertain, with concerns about potential pressure on sheep prices due to the high cost of lamb relative to chicken and beef.

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Original content

Muslims will celebrate the Feast of Sacrifice from Sunday 16 June. Traditionally, many sheep are slaughtered before and during this three-day festival. The additional demand for animals ready for slaughter has often led to a (temporary) price increase in recent decades. The supply of sheep ready for slaughter in the Netherlands is now relatively ample. This is because both 'remainers', sheep born in 2023, and the first suckling lambs of this year are coming onto the market. Keep on hand "Some sheep farmers keep animals in reserve in order to deliver them ready for slaughter prior to the Feast of Sacrifice," says Andries Kingma, chairman of the sheep and goat trade sector committee at Vee & Logistiek Nederland. 'Because of this extra supply, the greater demand for sheep for slaughter due to the Feast of Sacrifice only provides a limited price incentive.' What then is the cause of the current high price level? Supply and demand. In Europe there has been a tight supply of sheep for ...

Source: Nieuwe Oogst