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Sheep meat production in the EU-27 increased by 8.6% y-o-y driven by high lamb slaughtering in Italy,
France and Spain. Despite recent production increases, the June average price of EU lamb was EUR
6,171/MT, up 0.7% m-o-m and 12% y-o-y, mainly attributable to high demand in the domestic and
export markets. The reopening of the foodservice sector should support demand in the second half
of 2021.
The monthly average price of New Zealand lamb was NZD 8,016/MT, up 8.4% m-o-m and 15.3% y-o-y.
New Zealand lamb prices continued to exhibit a seasonal increase in June. On average, New Zealand
lamb slaughter decreases seasonally in the second quarter of the calendar year by 37% compared to
Q1, indicating lower supplies in the market. The total lamb slaughter was down 2% y-o-y to 15.2 million
head in May 2021.
In June, the average price of UK lamb declined by 13.2% m-o-m to GBP 5,417/MT, mainly due to high
supplies in the UK market. In the last week of June, the number of lambs coming through GB auction
markets were 8% higher compared to the week before. However, the average price increased by
22% y-o-y, supported by the upcoming Islamic festival of Eid-Al Adha, which begins around 19 July
this year. In 2020, stricter restrictions on the number of people gathering during the festival remained
relatively low, thus weighing on demand and prices.