According to the latest figures by Defra, the UK lamb kill in July 2021 totalled 1,084,000 head, in line with typical levels recorded in other recent years.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) have said that the latest figures are “in line with what [they] were expecting” and correspond to that predicted in the latest AHDB sheep market outlook.
As reported by AHDB, compared to levels reported earlier this year, lamb kill was down 16% (200,000 head). The report added that lamb slaughter in the second half of 2020 was elevated due to concerns over the future UK-EU trading relationship, bringing animals forwards out of 2021.
The latest figures also showed:
- carcase weights were typical for both lambs and ewes, at 19.6kg and 26.9kg respectively
- production in July reflected the lower level of slaughter, and was down 17% (5,000 tonnes) on the year, to stand at 24,200 tonnes.
Additionally, the figures stated that ewe kill was yet again recorded at a low level, down 28% to 111,000 head. AHDB said that there have been “some doubts over” the recorded numbers of ewe kill, most notably due to “the different trend between auction market throughputs and Defra recorded kill.”
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