Supply continued to influence the lamb trade last week following an uneasy and fluctuation season. In the week end 6 October, the deadweight price carried on declining as plenty of lamb was on the market. The SQQ stood at 366.1 p/kg, the lowest its been since November 2010.

Estimate GB slaughtering’s were down on the week, standing at 320,000 head, although this still meant supply was strong. This number of throughputs is the second highest estimated weekly kill for 2012.

In opposition, liveweight prices made a good comeback following some decline which would suggest supplies are tightening although this is likely to be down to producers reacting to lower prices instead of having less lambs to sell, the AHDB report said. An upcoming Muslim festival next week could lift the price somewhat although this would not be evident for a week or so yet.

At Stirling Auction Mart, 1961 prime lambs averaged 154.73 p/kg reaching a top of 205p/kg and £95 per head for a Beltex. Texels went to 200p and £88 a head while Texel crosses reached £83 and other crosses at 162p/kg and £85 a head.

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