Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. Regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam, it involves a month of fasting between dawn and sunset. The fast-breaking meal at sunset can often involve banquet festivities and typical main dishes would involve stewed lamb or lamb kebabs.

This has an impact on throughput in sheep factories. Buying for Ramadan usually peaks before the start of the festival and there is also a lift before it ends. This year, it runs from 26 May to 24 June.

“We would have extra orders for extra lambs at Ramadan, but it’s not as big as the Eid Al-Adha Festival at the end of the year,” Kepak lamb business unit manager Alan Brown told the Irish Farmers Journal ahead of Ramadan last year.

Eid Al-Adha

Eid Al-Adha runs from 1 September to 5 September this year. It is the second Muslim religious festival in the year and is considered to be the holier of the two.

Some factories lowered base quotes ahead of the June bank holiday weekend. One factory agent said much of the buying for Ramadan is now complete and with bank holidays in Ireland and France coming up, the decision was taken to be extra cautious when buying .

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Farmer writes: Sheepmeat and the Muslim market