Lamb retains a privileged position due to

FENNELL

SHEEP farmers are well versed in the religious calendar — with Easter, Ramadan and the Eid al-Adha festival marked in months in advance. Prices have stabilised and are likely to remain firm over the next few weeks as Ramadan is proving timely with the Muslim holy month beginning around June 6 at a time when mid-season lamb production is entering full f low, while EID falls on September 11 this year.

Yet, there is something else that farmers will have to bear in mind over the next few years as Ramadan is arriving two weeks earlier every year.

Beyond 2019 both Easter and Ramadan are going to be converging, with just one week separating them in 2021, which means a significant opportunity for farmers but also a challenge to meet the peak demand in a short space of time.

In Ireland the peak production of lamb tends to be the highest in the weeks ahead of EID, with the number of head of lamb processed surpassing 70,000hd over the past three years. Among all the options consumers have nowadays for protein, lamb does still hold a privileged position with its long-running traditional link to religious festivals.

Sheep meat continues to be the protein of choice for Muslim consumers which means a year-round demand in some of our key export markets such as the UK and France.

Worldwide the 1.6 billion Muslim population is growing and expected to reach 2.2 billion globally by 2030, or 26pc of the global population. With over 44 million Muslims in Europe, they also have a younger profile than other Europeans. Now the new season lamb is f lowing, while the hogget numbers are tightening up. After an exceptional month in May, the lamb crop is looking good and all the indicators are pointing towards a good 2016.Lamb prices have struck an average of €5.19/ kg so far this year. If you look at the figures, it is back on the record highs achieved Source: Bord Bia last year by around 8c/kg, at a time when production throughputs are up 6pc on last year, equivelent to an additional 40,000hd. To get a