Store lambs £15 dearer as ear tag sales drop 4.7%

Recent surges in the store lamb trade are more of a nod to national flock contraction than bullish buyer confidence.

This is according to auctioneers, who say an 11.2% drop in weekly lamb kill has pushed liveweight lamb prices 40-50p/kg higher on the year to about 300p/kg.

As a result, some centres have also seen store lambs rise to make £15 more on the year.

See also: Find all our market price information in one place 

Latest insights on flock contraction come from Defra’s Livestock Unique Identification Service, which shows a 4.7% drop in tag sales year-on-year, and a 12% drop since 2022.

While tag sales data is best treated with caution, Defra confirmed there were 1.66m fewer tags delivered to farms this year to date, at 18.15m.

Furthermore, latest AHDB weekly slaughter figures are below 220,000 head. 

Long-keep lambs at £110

Trade at Sedgemoor has stepped up since late October, lifting from £88 a head to £103 a head over a fortnight for its entry of mainly Suffolk and Texel-cross lambs.

“It’s only really increasing in line with the fat trade,” said Paul Ashton of Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

“Longer-keep lambs with decent frame are £110-£120, though the smallest lambs look the dearest.

“There is very little you can buy for less than £80.”

Auctioneer John Rossiter, of Hobbs Parker, said store lamb values have remained up on the year at Ashford.

This is despite the market being clobbered with bluetongue restrictions and the usual South West-based buyers being unable to source from outside the restricted zone.

Mr Rossiter said a combination of limiting supply and increased interest from buyers within the zone had supported trade, with Ashford’s throughput down 10% overall.

“Prime lamb sellers have even sold here because they didn’t want to be penalised on their lamb price selling deadweight from a bluetongue zone,” he said.

“I’d guess if restrictions were lifted tomorrow, the store price would lift perhaps £5 a lamb, but that would be it,” said Mr Rossiter.

“The first three sales were very good, and we sold 20,000 lambs over those three dates.

“Although there was a slight tone of caution due to talk of midges being an issue.”