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Deadweight lamb prices drop back, whilst liveweight prices climb further
Thursday, 4 February 2021
By Charlie Reeve
In the week ending 30 January, the OSL SQQ deadweight lamb price dropped back by 15.9p on the previous week to average 558.4p/kg. Despite this change in market direction, prices are still up by 87p on the same week last year and 138p higher than the five-year-average.
Total throughputs for the week ending 30 January are estimated at 195,200 head, down 9% on the previous year.
In the week ending 3 February, the liveweight OSL SQQ price rose up by 12.7p on the previous week to average 266.99p/kg. Prices are currently up 36p when compared to the same week in 2020. Estimated throughput at British auction markets for the week totalled 97,400 head, up 13,500 head (16%) on the previous week but down 6% when compared to the same week last year.
The current high prices are being supported by tight supply in both the domestic market and on the continent. Other traditional major exporters to the E.U. such as New Zealand have been focusing their efforts on other markets such as North Asia and the Middle East. This means less lamb is being made readily available in the E.U. market. When more recent trade data becomes available in the coming weeks, we will be able to quantify this in more detail.
At a domestic level, there have also been some reports from industry of lambs taking longer to finish due to the adverse weather conditions limiting growth, this may also have an impact on supply.
Cull ewes averaged just under £77.81/head, £2.33 less than the previous week.
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