Sheep kill

Factories are all reporting tighter supplies of good-quality fleshed lambs, while poor slaughter performance and price pressure has slowed drafting.

Prices remain unchanged, with lambs selling in the main from €7.20/kg to €7.35/kg and ewes from €3.70/kg to €4/kg.

Higher ewe throughput has lifted the kill above 60,000 head for only the second time since spring, with good-quality fleshed lambs still sought after.

While quotes are unchanged, reports indicate some factories are trying to purchase lambs closer to base quotes, leaving a wider differential between prices paid.

A high percentage of lambs are trading from €7.30/kg to €7.40/kg, with prices at the top end of the market hitting €7.50/kg.

The cattle and pig kills are holding steady, with little overall change for the first seven months compared with 2023.

Meat and Livestock Australia report that the 7.2m lambs slaughtered in quarter two of 2024 sets a new record for the industry with the last 12 months kill also record throughput.

There was a 19% drop in the sheep kill for the month of June when compared to June 2023.