It is well documented that there have been a number of contributing factors such as the exchange rate which has hampered exports, higher production, and we believe higher imports from New Zealand during our peak season.
NFU chief livestock adviser John Royle said new figures from AHDB show that shipments from New Zealand were up 74 per cent in September 2015 compared to the same time 12 months previous at 4,200 tonnes with imports from NZ for the year to September are up by 3%.
“This accounts for 77 per cent of total shipments to the UK – and that’s up from 57 per cent in September 2014. And supplies of sheep meat in New Zealand were high as they moved towards the end of their season and this increase could be the result of attempts to reduce stocks in the run up to the new season.
“Most retailers here continue to support British lamb, and this is borne out by the last AHDB beef and lamb watch figures which show that in August 2015 85% of lamb facings were British, up 6% from 79% in August 2014. So, this begs the question were all this NZ old season lamb is going?
“The most likely route is into UK food service sector. I would suggest that consumers are in fact losing out on the plentiful supplies of British lamb this autumn when the quality is at its best. We would urge all those customers in foodservice to seek out British lamb and support British sheep farmers.”