Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has found that UK abattoir throughput figures for June revealed a “concerning trend” as sheep numbers slaughtered were “substantially down” during the first six months of the year.
HCC found that around 5.4 million prime lambs were processed in the first six months of the year, 9% down year-on-year and 6% below 2022 levels.
In its July Market Bulletin, HCC said the data represented a “concerning trend” of consecutive lower numbers.
Glesni Phillips, HCC intelligence, analysis and business insight executive, said: “This 9% fewer prime lambs equates to a weighty 564,400 head on 2023 numbers and is a knock-on effect of the information we saw in the 2023 June survey, which registered a 10% fall in sheep numbers.
“It depicts a concerning and successive year-on-year trend of a shrinking flock that could have sizeable repercussions for critical mass and lower production in Wales.”
HCC found that in total, there were 6.1 million sheep and lambs slaughtered at UK abattoirs up until June, which it said represented a “significant” 10% (or 699,200 head) decline from the previous year.
Phillips continued: “However, there may be a few chinks of light within these darker statistics, as they also include adult sheep numbers dropping as well - so it’s possible some could be kept back for further breeding.”
Phillips said throughput of adult sheep in the period was “significantly below year-earlier levels”, down 16% to 688,600 head, which was the lowest level recorded since the first six months of 2020. As a result, the total volume of sheep meat produced January-July 2024 was 8% lower than year-earlier levels, at 129,400 tonnes.
“Another factor could be that the weather is impacting on grass growth and setting back finishing until after June - but all in all, the numbers are some way behind where we would have thought they would be at this time of year,” said Phillips.
2024-25 lamb crop expected to be fewer than last year
It was reported that the lower figures were despite abattoirs recording higher slaughter numbers in January and February compared to the previous year.
She continued: “The subsequent four months saw significantly lower levels than in 2023. Numbers increased slightly in March due to demand surrounding Easter and Ramadan, but New Season Lambs have generally been slower to come forward, resulting in numbers being 5% below the five-year average.
“Due to natural supply trends in the UK, peak supply typically occurs in the latter half of the year, with numbers reaching around 6.3 million head in the second half of last year. Given the smaller female breeding flock reported in the December survey, the 2024-25 lamb crop is expected to be fewer than the previous year’s and is very likely to lead to an overall reduction in numbers.”
According to the latest Defra figures, during the first half of 2024 the total throughput of cattle at UK abattoirs reached 1.4 million head. HCC said this represented a 1% increase (or 15,900) compared to the January-June 2023 period, and is also 1% higher than the five-year average for the same period.
