Sheep sector manager of Bord Bia, Seamus McMenamin, spoke at the Teagasc National Sheep Conference last week. One of the points he noted is that there is resistance to stocking organic lamb from certain large retailers. This is being attributed to the seasonality of the meat.
McMenamin shared that, “We have seen strong growth in organic produce across all categories – witnessing about a 9% increase.”
“Organic lamb production in Ireland is quite unique, as we only kill about 15-16,000 organic sheep a year. One positive sign is that Kepak has started processing organic lambs, which has helped to create bit more demand.”
He continued: “25-30% of our organic lamb is sold domestically, while the rest is destined to Germany mainly, and some of it to Belgium.”
“It is a strong market outlet, but it’s difficult to grow as it is a seasonal product and there is some resistance from some of the big retailers,” McMenamin said.
“They all stock organic beef, but just the seasonality of lamb creates a problem when you’re dealing with retailers. However, in saying all that, there is a growing demand for the product, it’s just not at the scale yet to get a big retail order.”
LSL News.