Prices pull out of spiral as normality resumes

The gradual slide appears to have halted: factory quotes for what hoggets are left in the system have stabilised at last week’s price of €4.90/kg plus bonuses, with cull ewes continuing steady at €2.50/kg.

On the spring lamb side Kildare Chilling are steady at €5.70+10c/kg quality assurance, but they are joined on that price by the two ICM plants and Dawn Ballyhaunis, who all drop by 5c/kg.

So you could argue that overall, prices are largely unchanged.

Kepak Athleague chose not to officially quote, while

Dawn left their price box for hoggets blank on our table.

During the darkest days of the Covid crisis there was a real fear that prices might collapse, and while we are not out the other side yet, a level of normality has been returning to the trade, both nationally and internationally.

Various countries on the continent have been loosening their restrictions on shopping and food outlets.

As factory prices have slipped over the last three weeks, mart returns have taken a hit and despite mart numbers continuing to ease in many places, prices for lambs fell another €4-8/hd last week.

One of the issues I keep hearing is that lambs are not thriving as they should, because of the very dry conditions.

ICM’s decision last week to lift their weight limit to 21kg for lamb may prompt other processors to consider a similar move.

Given the difficulty in getting adequate flesh cover, because of the difficult grass situation, that extra half a kilo does allow producers to push their lambs into bigger overall weights, thus helping to get a more presentable carcase.

In Ireland, we have the Bord Bia Quality Assurance label to help in our marketing by assuring the consumer of best practice and traceability, and we also have a selection of Protected Geographical Area (PGI) products.

Lambs produced in these geographical areas, such as the Comeragh Mountains in Waterford and Connemara, have been officially designated and protected by the EU as having a uniqueness that cannot be replicated in other areas.

It’s an idea that was copied by Scottish producers and appears to work very well for them as a marketing tool.

However, we don’t appear to have built on this marketing initiative to any great degree.

The world post-Covid will be a very different place I suspect, a place, where consumers will want even more emphasis on food traceability and sustainability.

As a unique grass-based food producing nation, we should feed this need by getting the Government to lobby the EU to broaden the reach of PGI status by taking in far bigger areas of the country and capitalising on our natural uniqueness.

We should lobby the EU to broaden the reach of PGI status by taking in far bigger areas of the country and capitalising on our natural uniqueness