PROCESSORS forecast a deluge of heavy lambs this autumn and have warned of major discounting for the swamped export market.
“The biggest concern is lambs will be too heavy with majority of lambs will be over 26 kilograms,” JBS southern livestock manager Steve Chapman said.
“The global signals are that we need to concentrate more on that 20 to 26 kilogram lamb, and above 30kg is becoming increasingly difficult to sell and not as widely accepted purely on portion size.
“Lambs are still relatively dear compared to other proteins so we need to focus on portion size to maintain market share.”
With producers opting to capitalise on grass over market prices, Mr Chapman said lambs were yielding higher weights than last year as a response to the improved seasonal conditions.
“Export demand is okay for the right type of article – that 24 to 26kg – those lambs can service all our markets but over that we have pressure on portion size.”