Northern Irish lamb in ‘great’ position to compete globally
Lamb produced all year round in Northern Ireland has been found to be “as good as” lamb produced in New Zealand, according to a recent report.
The study, entitled Benchmarking Northern Ireland Lamb and produced by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, investigated the eating quality and acceptability of Northern Irish lamb in comparison to lamb produced in New Zealand.
Colin Smith, LMC industry development manager.
The findings of the report revealed that the quality of Northern Irish lamb is “excellent” and that the industry is in a “great position” to compete alongside other global competitors.
Commenting on the study, the Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland’s (LMC), which part-funded the report, industry development manager, Colin Smith, stated: “The report backs up what producers and processors here have known for a long time that the quality of Northern Irish lamb is exceptional and compares favourably with lamb from around the globe.
“The report shows that lambs at nine to 12 months-of-age, which are often mistakenly considered as being less acceptable to consumers’ tastes, performed very well in independent eating quality and likeness trials, demonstrating that the eating quality and consumer acceptability of lamb produced all year round in Northern Ireland is as good as lamb produced in New Zealand.”
Furthermore, the results found that there was “no significant difference” in terms of consumer liking and eating quality between male or female lambs processed at nine to 12 months of age and younger New Zealand lambs at four to six months of age.
Northern Ireland lambs were selected from commercial production between January and April 2017.
Smith added: “Subject to availability, there is no reason for retailers and food service outlets not to stock Northern Irish lamb all year round. LMC’s mystery shopper data indicates that in December 2017, some retailers sourced as much as 40% of their lamb products from New Zealand.
“Retailers and restauranteurs should be encouraged by these results and consumers should have confidence in their enjoyment of locally produced Farm Quality Assured lamb all year round.”
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