Date: 24 April 2007 Cyclo No:59/2007

FARMERS QUESTION REASON FOR LAMB PRICE FALL

The Ulster Farmers' Union has raised concerns about current spring lamb prices in Northern Ireland. The UFU says prices have fallen by 23% in the past two weeks.

UFU Hill Farming Chairman Nigel McLaughlin, a sheep farmer near Dungiven, said lambs which were trading at 350 pence per kg two weeks ago, have fallen to quotes of only 270 pence per kg.

Nigel McLaughlin said; "Producers are being told that the price drop is because of the high volume of lambs available locally. If this is the case then producers want to know why processing plants are continuing to import large numbers of lamb from Great Britain?".

The UFU says the current fall in lamb prices is a blow to a sector already downsizing locally. The DARD Agricultural Survey 2006 showed that the Northern Ireland sheep flock had decreased by 15% from the previous year.

Nigel McLaughlin said sheep farmers wanted a viable and productive sheep sector in Northern Ireland, but negative price signals were causing many producers to consider their future options seriously.

Mr McLaughlin said; "Our current farm gate prices for local lamb are 16% lower than last Spring, but retail prices are 7% higher to consumers, another issue where farmers are continually taken for granted".

ENDS.