The latest Bord Bia sheep price dashboard shows the gap between lamb prices in Britain and Northern Ireland narrowing to its lowest level for quite some time. The British price reported for the week of 19 October 2024 was €7.43/kg compared to €7.15/kg in Northern Ireland.

Prices in Northern Ireland and Ireland have firmed in recent weeks while during this timeframe British prices eased by 15p/kg to 20p/kg on the back of a brief increase in the number of lambs coming on to the market.

The Irish lamb prices of €7.31/kg is also closer to the British price with this price excluding VAT of 5% which is paid as a top up on sales of output to farmers not registered for VAT.

Prices in Ireland are running just over €1/kg higher than in 2023 in Ireland while the Northern Ireland price is over €1.20/kg higher and the British price is just shy of 90c/kg higher.

Spanish and French prices top the sheep price dashboard reported by Bord Bia. The Spanish average lamb price of €9.07/kg is about 80c/kg higher year-on-year while the French lamb price of €9.67/kg has experienced the greatest lift, running €1.33/kg higher.

Australian trade

Australian lamb prices have sustained their recent improvement in price with prices averaging €5.01/kg for the week of 19 October 2024. Meat and Livestock Australia report that prices have increased by 12% to 25% during quarter three of 2024. It says that while lamb prices have returned to late 2021 and early 2022 levels it is unlikely that they will continue to reach new highs.

Supplies are variable across different regions. MLA reports that a stellar season in New South Wales has resulted in more new season lambs coming on to the market earlier with throughput 20% to 40% up compared to 2023 during the third quarter.

In contrast, supplies in Victoria have been affected by poor seasonal conditions leading to a higher number of lambs killing at less than 22kg carcase weight. Here farmers are selling cull ewes earlier in a bid to bring lambs to heavier weights. As a result mutton prices have reduced by 24% since early July.

Pressure remains on price in New Zealand with the latest report showing lamb prices steady at an average of €4.36/kg. This is 45c/kg above 2023 levels but almost €1/kg below prices in October 2022.

The contrasting fortunes for Australian and New Zealand farmers is partly due to New Zealand exports hampered by lower demand in the Chinese market while Australia is benefitting from a buoyant US market.