Slight easing in liveweight lamb trade

By Bethan Wilkins

Liveweight lamb prices have fallen a little in the past week with a slight rise in the number of lambs coming to market during the week.

The liveweight GB OSL SQQ fell by just over 3p in the week ended 17 March to average 289.7p/kg. This is still a very high price, being about 80p above the 5-year average for this time of year. Normally, we might expect to see extra price strength in the run-up to Easter, which this year falls on Sunday 4 April. However, with prices already exceptionally high, and Easter celebrations affected by coronavirus restrictions for a second year, the current situation is anything but normal.

Compared to the previous week, there was a 1% increase in the number of lambs coming to market, at 109,000 head overall. This was a substantial 23% below the number of lambs penned in the equivalent week last year, when farmers were particularly keen to sell before further lockdown restrictions were imposed.

Prices were generally a little lower throughout the period. The largest decline in the SQQ came on Wednesday 17 March when prices were down by 6p on the previous week, at 284.28p/kg.

In contrast, deadweight prices reached a new high in the latest week. In the week ended 13 March, the GB OSL SQQ was up by nearly 19p on the previous week to 634p/kg. This meant that prices moved further away from the 5-year average, now being over 175p higher. Estimated slaughter during the week was low at only 179,200 head, which may have influenced the strong prices. This slaughter level was 7% below the previous week and nearly 16% below the same week last year.

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