New Zealand-Lamb numbers drop off.

NEW ZEALAND-NZ lamb supply subsides

New Zealand lamb slaughter during March was down 25% on the previous year, at 2.29 million head. The lower number of lambs born in spring 2008 has given rise to this major contraction in supply (NZ MAF).

Slaughter in the current NZ season to date (October to March) is back 13% on the previous year at 14.3 million head. As the winter months approach, supply is expected to tighten further. The reduced numbers as well as the lower NZ$ are having a major impact on farm gate prices, countering the demand implications of the global recession, with South Island prices for a 15kg lamb averaging NZ$79.94 in April, 63% higher than a year earlier (AgBrief).

The spring 2008 lamb crop was low for a number of reasons: the drought, the conversion to dairy and cropping enterprises and a continued flock run-down in what was seen as an increasingly unprofitable industry.