ARGENTINA.
LAMB SEASON.
The annual lamb slaughter is now in full swing, it has been a very good season in Patagonia for suck lambs this year.
Patagonia is snowed in for the winter, consequently the lamb season runs from mid October to the start of May, then closes down. The 5 export plants switch to hares for the winter months, processing them on the sheep lines.
There are 5 EU approved export lamb plants in Patagonia, three with capacity for 12,000 lambs per week, two with capacity for 5,000 lambs per week.
There was 26,000 tons of lamb carcass and boneless mutton exported in 2008, the kill for the first 4 months of 2009, will bring the annual export to approx 30,000 tons for 2009.
The main market is Spain followed by Italy and Greece, the balance of the lambs go to England and France.
The cull ewes are slaughtered in February until April, prior to the season closing.
Lambs from the five plants in Patagonia, enjoy organic status, however the lambs that average only 12 to 14 kilos, are only suitable for specialized markets.
The goat trade and lamb trade in the rest of Argentina, runs for the whole year, the quality of lambs are only suitable for Brazil and the Caribbean Islands.
There are not sufficient quantities of sheep, to develop a live trade with the Middle East.
