Ramadan could save ewe trade with supply up 11%

An early surge in festival demand is tipped to strengthen an otherwise humdrum ewe trade, which has seen high volumes pull averages down by £10 a head on the year.

January’s UK ewe and ram slaughter was 11% higher this year than last, with abattoirs killing 100,000 head.  

Consequently, cull ewe prices were lower than many expected, alongside a disappointing hogg price, which was about £12-£15 a head back on the year at 230-240p/kg.

See also: Aldi drops UK lamb pledge amid mixed support from retailers

But Ramadan, which consists of 30 days of daytime fasting and larger evening meals, starts 10 days earlier this year than last year, on 22 March, and some auctioneers have noted a price improvement four to five weeks out.  

The supply side of the market is also expected to tighten as more flocks start lambing, say auctioneers.

Cull ewe numbers at auction marts were up by 10% to 38,871 head for the week ending 21 February. Prices were up by £4.59 a head on the week to average £82.87 a head.

Ramadan kicks off

According to auctioneer Nick Young of South East Marts at Hailsham, buyers purchasing for Ramadan now have contacts with farmland, so can hold ewes for several days or weeks before the festival, making the Ramadan surge less spiky.

Mr Young said demand was noticeably stronger at last week’s sale, adding he was hopeful of a buoyant trade going forward.

He said Texel-crosses had made £200 a head and Mules were regularly passing £100 a head. “The buyers want meat and fleshy sheep, which wasn’t always the case,” he added.

“A little rise in demand has been seen for stores, as people are buying them to fatten for Easter, although store lambs were only hitting £80-£85.”

Bentham yards 60% more

Averages lifted at Bentham’s sale, near Lancaster, on Wednesday 15 February despite a rise of almost 700 ewes on the week.

All classes sold well, said Greg MacDougall, sheep auctioneer at Bentham Auction Mart for Richard Turner and Son, adding that more would be required to meet rising demand in the coming weeks.

“I can only see the trade firming going forward,” said Mr MacDougall. “They will start putting them aside for Ramadan from here on in.”

Commenting on poor scanning results, he said: “There are one or two people really upset, but on the whole, there have been more ewes with singles I think, rather than lots of empty ewes.”

Lighter sheep

Carcass weight data and some mart reports suggest condition and power have been limited on ewes.

Last month’s average carcass weight was 23.9kg, the lowest January weight since 2009, and 3.4kg lighter than January 2022.