Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) is calling on farmers to hold firm for €6.20/kg for lambs and not accept lower prices from factories.
ICSA sheep chair Sean McNamara said factories are trying to scare farmers to accept lower prices but said they know factories are paying a lot more for lamb in the UK which they are importing from.
“If factories offer farmers less than €6.10/kg, then farmers should tell them to forget about it, because they will have to buy lambs at a much higher price in the UK,” he added.
“Furthermore, I’m calling on the Minister for Agriculture to ensure that there is much more scrutiny to ensure that any imported lamb is not sold as Irish quality assured lamb.”
Earlier this week factories decided to pull lamb prices by up to 20c/kg from the previous week. Quotes range from €5.80 to €6.00/kg back from €6.00 to €6.20/kg last week.
Mart managers reported a quieter trade for finished lambs towards the end of last week.
LSL News.