Farming Talk: Lamb supplies are tight on the global market

Current euro exchange rate uncertainties make it more important than ever for English sheep producers to finish store lambs at the right specification for the market to ensure the best returns.

Tight lamb supplies globally and strong demand for sheep meat from mainland Europe mean UK market prices, which depend so fundamentally on exports at this time of the year, are likely to hold up well in the immediate term.

However, recent exchange rate volatility is likely to make export buyers more cautious and discerning, putting the premium on lambs of precisely the right weight and finish for the markets they serve.

For producers, up-to-date market intelligence is key to ensuring they get the best returns from store lambs.

This can be secured through regular communication with livestock markets and abattoir procurement staff and by using the EBLEX online deadweight and auction market price reporting service which can be accessed through the market information section of www.eblex.org.uk

While continental export markets have a wide range of specifications, it is important to appreciate that market options for lamb carcases decline markedly if they are allowed to get too heavy or too fat. Under these circumstances, holding on to store lambs for too long in pursuit of improving spring prices and extra weight is likely to be more risky than ever this season.

The fact that most of the weight gain in heavier lambs is in the form of fat, which takes markedly more energy to put on than muscle, makes the risk of keeping stock too long particularly high.

A smaller eye muscle area than either cattle or pigs means lambs can very quickly become over fat. All of the consumer marketing research that we have done consistently shows that although consumers love the taste of lamb, the main thing that puts them off purchasing it is fat.

Many of them perceive lamb to be too fat and therefore wasteful. At the current retail price this is a major issue and has seen a decline in consumption of lamb on the home market.

Although producer returns have remained favourable in the light of the strong export market, it would be worrying if lamb was to become the caviar of the red meat world.

Clive Brown is senior northern regional manager of EBLEX