W50: Weekly Lamb & Mutton Update

Published Dec 20, 2022

Europe

EU sheep and goat meat production is expected to increase slightly (by 0.2% per year) until 2032 (up to 645K MT). Coupled income support, a tight global supply-demand situation, and favorable prices for producers should support this trend. Production will remain concentrated in a few select EU countries. EU per capita consumption is expected to remain relatively stable by 2032 (around 1.3 kg per year). After 2 years of low exports due to Brexit and high domestic prices, EU sheep meat exports are expected to catch up in 2023/24 and reach 60K MT by 2032. UK imports currently represent almost half of EU meat exports and should remain stable at most. There is a lot of uncertainty on the possible impact of trade agreements between the UK and Australia/New Zealand on EU and UK markets. EU imports will slightly decline to 125K MT by 2032. Even though the EU is still an attractive export destination, it is predicted Australia and New Zealand will focus more on Asian markets. After high prices in 2021 and 2022, EU prices are to start a downward trend but are likely to remain significantly higher than before COVID-19.

Australia

NSW Government, Farmers, and Processors Move on Sheep Eid Tagging

New South Wales’ State Government and its farmers have agreed that all sheep and farmed goats born after January 1, 2025, will require an electronic tag before leaving a property, as processors call for visual National Livestock Identification System tags to be phased out after that date. From 1 January 2027, all farmed sheep and goats in NSW will require an EID tag, NSW Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders announced at the Dubbo sale yards. From June 30, 2024, meat processors will be required to start scanning all farmed sheep and goats and from January 1, 2025, scanning at sale yards will commence.

AgForce’s Stephen Tully Slams National Sheep and Goat EID Rollout

The state's peak body for sheep and goat graziers has slammed the planned national rollout of new electronic identification for stock, labeling it "sheer stupidity". AgForce sheep and wool board president Stephen Tully said the timeline, which would mean all sheep and farmed goats would need an eID tag before January 1, 2025, was unrealistic.

Ireland

Lamb Prices Drop in Ireland by USD.05-0.10/KG

The sheep trade is starting the week as it did last, with prices easing, as many move to wipe a further USD 0.05-0.10/kg off base quotes on this time last week. Last Monday, base quotes at some plants had eased by USD 0.05/kg. Other meat processing plants hinted at pulling prices themselves, and this has since materialized. Kildare Chilling is holding its base price from last week at USD 6.77/kg (EUR 6.40) plus a USD 0.10/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus up to 22kg. Irish Country Meats has eased its offering for lambs and is now on a base price of USD 6.67/kg (EUR 6.30) plus a USD 0.10/kg QA bonus up to 22.5kg, back USD 0.10/kg last week. A western-based meat processing plant has pulled another USD 0.05/kg off its base quote from last week to stand at USD 6.67/kg (EUR 6.30).

France Remains Key Export Market for Irish Sheepmeat at 33%

France remains a key export market for Irish sheep meat, accounting for 33% of the total. This is according to the Teagasc Economic Outlook for Irish Agriculture report, which was published on December 13. The vast majority of Irish sheep meat production is destined for foreign markets with 54.5K MT (carcass weight equivalent) of sheep meat exported in 2021, a decline of 5% from previous years.

Lamb Prices Steady at Marts With the Weather Disrupting Normal Service

Lamb prices at marts over the past fortnight have been steady, with little change to report as the 2022 sales draw to a close. Some marts, towards the end of last week and into this week, have held their final sheep sales of the year, while some will continue to run into next week before the Christmas break. The weather over the past week has had some impact on sales, either pushing back start times in order to allow farmers plenty of time to get to the mart safely or in some cases, farmers have not been able to bring sheep to sales at all due to dangerous road conditions. Looking at the trade, heavy lambs in excess of 50kg have generally been selling from USD 153.45/head (EUR 145) up to USD 164.04/head (EUR 155). Lambs in the 47-49 kg weight bracket, in the main, have been selling for USD 142.87- 148.16/head (EUR 135-140), with prices for planer lots falling back to USD 135.46- 137.58/head (EUR 128-130).

Funding Needed for Climate Action in Beef and Sheep Sectors

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) on December 16, set out a series of proposals to the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine to provide substantial funding to active farmers in the beef, suckler, and sheep sectors. The association is calling for funding to help farmers deliver “win/win” solutions to climate change.

Sheep Throughput Climbs to Over 62K Heads

The weekly sheep kill increased once again last week to reach over 62K head, the second week in a row it has risen. Figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show that 62,393 sheep were processed last week (week ending December 10), which is an increase of over 2.7K head from the week prior. Spring lamb supplies totaled 53,840 head, an increase of over 1.2K head on the previous week, while ewe and ram throughput tallied 7,734 head, increasing by over 1K head. The number of hoggets processed increased to 819 heads.

France

The Price Difference Between French and Irish Lamb Is Nearly USD 2.12/KG

There is nearly a difference of USD 2.12/kg (EUR 2) between the French and Irish lamb prices, going to the latest Bord Bia sheep meat price tracker. The prices outlined are up to December 3, and put France well out in front of other countries at USD 9.02/kg (EUR 8.52). Coming second to France, but still, nearly USD 0.65/kg behind is Spain at USD 8.34/kg (EUR 7.88). This is followed by the Irish price which is at USD 6.94/kg (EUR 6.56), USD 2.07/kg (EUR 1.96) less than the French price.

Spain

Sheep Meat Remained Stable in the First Nine Months of 2022

Sheep meat production, until September of 2022, remained stable, repeating the values of 2021 with 90,783MT. Castilla y León led this sector with 29,264MT of meat obtained, which is 10% more, 2,700MT, than in the same period of the previous year. On the contrary, in the Catalan region, there was a decrease of 9.35%, losing 1,100MT, although it still reached the figure of 10,444MT. It is worth highlighting the 4.21% increase experienced in Castilla La Mancha with the 11,921MT that have left the slaughterhouses of that autonomous community in the first nine months of 2022, 1,140MT more than in 2021.

China

Tianjin Issued the Measures for the Administration of Fixed-Point Slaughtering of Cattle and Sheep

Recently, the Tianjin Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Commission issued the "Management Measures for the Fixed-point Slaughtering of Cattle and Sheep in Tianjin", which formulated a total of 25 policies to effectively ensure food safety in the entire chain from breeding to dining tables.

The Development of Meat, Beef, and Sheep Production Continues to Improve

Since the beginning of 2022, the national meat, beef, and sheep production have shown a good momentum of improvement and growth. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first three quarters, the national beef output was 4.85M MT, an increase of 3.6% over the same period of the previous year; the mutton output was 3.46M MT, an increase of 1.5%. According to the monitoring of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the stock of meat, beef, and sheep has increased. From January to October, newborn calves increased by 9.7% YoY, and newborn lambs increased by 1.8% YoY. The annual beef and mutton production is expected to reach a new high by more than 2% points.

Hungary

Sheep and Cattle Farmers Will Receive Support Already This Week

This year, due to the drought, the drastic increase in the price of input materials and feed, and the less favorable credit financing environment, the role of advances and partial payments related to agricultural subsidies in the financing of agriculture increased. That is why it was important to ensure that as many people as possible receive a uniform payment and that transfers can begin on all possible legal grounds, even after the production-related subsidies of livestock breeders and fruit growers. In order to increase the financial stability of agricultural producers and to finance the financial resources necessary for production, advances and partial payments in the amount of USD 840M (HUF 322B) will be made this year, the Ministry of Agriculture informed Agro Napló. This week USD 12M (HUF 4.5B) will be received in the form of production-linked ewes support for more than 5K sheep farms and USD 17M (HUF 6.5B) in the framework of dairy cow support for nearly 3K cattle farmers.