Slide in farm gate price sparks fears for future of Welsh lamb

Welsh lamb - locally produced and extensively reared on green fields across the country - could be the answer for environmentally-conscious consumers and yet farmers have been left scratching their heads after UK farm-gate prices fell by 20p/kg in the last four weeks.

The drop has left the industry concerned about the future sustainability of the UK lamb trade and NFU Cymru is calling on retailers not to turn their backs on home-reared lamb in favour of cheap imports.

The fall in lamb prices is being blamed on a drop in French demand and a rise in New Zealand imports, which has triggered a supply and demand imbalance in the UK market. This has led to a dramatic slide in farm gate prices of between 15 and 20 per cent since the last week in March.

NFU Cymru's Livestock board chairman Ed Rees said, "Farmers will not continue to produce lamb if they are losing money. The anticipated late seasonal improvement in the trade has not yet materialised and new season lamb prices have been very volatile.

"With one in five of British lambs consumed across the channel, the on-going fall in French consumption also continues to cause enormous concerns. There is no doubt that increased New Zealand lamb availability has had a detrimental affect on British lamb finishers.

"Those retailing New Zealand lamb during the first half of the year must be encouraged not to turn their backs on Welsh lamb in favour of importing cheaper alternatives just to increase their margins. During our future meetings with retailers, I will be re-emphasising the need for them to provide farmers with the confidence to continue production."

Mr Rees added, "We are keen to work with the British supply chain to ensure a sustainable future market for Welsh lamb and build on our consumers' loyalty to buy fresh, local lamb.

"We know from earlier discussions with retailers that we must show imagination in providing consumers with a convenient, assured tasty product and avoid the pitfalls observed in other nations, such as France, where lamb sales have fallen".