Lamb increases again

Press, 15 May 1981, Page 2

Lamb increases again

X Farmers with lambs still to sell will receive a bonus. 'As a consequence of the big •improvement, in the United Kingdom market recently Exporters yesterday raised their prices for 10 grades of lamb meat by from 2c to 11c a kilogram, .with the biggest increases applying to the PL and PM grades. >;For a standard PM grade -Jamb killing out at 13.6 kg the increase represents almost .“Not taking into account . transport costs, this lamb yvith a skin with a kilogram of wool is now worth $18.51 ■ Compared with $16.16 at the opening of the season. The increases are all retrospective to last Monday.

In Christchurch yesterday, just arrived from the United Kingdom meat scene, was Mr G. K. Forshaw, managing director of Towers and Company, Ltd, a company owned by Waitaki NZ Refrigerating, Ltd, Southland Frozen Meat Company, and Hawkes Bay Farmers’ Co-operative, Ltd, which markets meat in the United Kingdom and Europe for those companies and also several other New Zealand shippers. Discussing the factors that had contributed to the substantial improvements in the market, Mr Forshaw said that less New Zealand lamb would be going to the United Kingdom this year than last year. Three weeks a freak blizzard had main sheep producing areas of the country and whilel.it had not reduced flocks much it had put English lambs back two or three week? in reaching the marketing stage, giving' another two or three weeks longer for selling New Zealand lamb without much competition from the local product. . As well the prices of other meats had risen, with a spinoff effect on lamb.

Beef prices had risen sharply. Ireland was supplying much less beef to the United Kingdom this year compared

with last year because Irish killings were up about 50 per cent last year and Irish exports of live cattle to North Africa last year had been very high and were quite high again this year. Lambs now being slaughtered in New Zealand would not be sold in the United Kingdom until September or October and it was not to be expected, with the impact of lambs killed in Britain, that prices in October would be the same as now but they were likely to be higher than would have been expected two months ago.

Taking into account the effects of the blizzard, that lamb stocks in store were low — at April 24 they stood at 4700 long tons compared with 8600 a year earlier—and the shipments still to come, Mr Forshaw said that prices for New Zealand lamb were likely to be good for the rest of the year. The new lamb meat prices, which apply from last Monday, are: PL, 8 to 12.5 kg, 119 c per kg (up 11c); PM, 13 to 16kg, 126 c (up 11c), PX, 16.5 to 19.5 kg, 124 c (up sc); PH, 16.5 to 19.5 kg, 112 c (up 4c); PHH, 20 to 25.5 kg, 102 c (up 3c); YL, 8 to 12.5 kg, 120 c (up 6c); YM, 13 to 16kg, 125 c (up 6c); OL, 8 to 12.5 kg, 112 c (up 8c); OM, 13 to 16kg, 118 c (up 8c); and A, 8 to 12.5 kg, 100 c (up 2c).