The Cook Government’s Minister for Agriculture and Food is leading the first Western Australian delegation of its kind to the United Kingdom, which includes some of the State’s major sheep meat and cattle producers.

• Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis is leading the first Western Australia delegation of its kind to the United Kingdom
• Minister Jarvis and major WA sheep meat companies will visit Smithfield Market, one of the largest wholesale meat markets in Europe
• The mission will also include meetings with the UK’s Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries and stakeholders from the UK’s biggest supermarkets

The Cook Government’s Minister for Agriculture and Food is leading the first Western Australian delegation of its kind to the United Kingdom, which includes some of the State’s major sheep meat and cattle producers.

The purpose of the ‘red meat mission’ is to establish strong relationships with UK market buyers and unlock new trade opportunities for WA farmers.

During the seven-day mission, Minister Jarvis will lead two WA sheep meat companies on a tour of the Smithfield Market, one of the largest wholesale meat markets, in Europe and meet with traders and buyers.

Fletcher International Exports, V & V Walsh and Pardoo Wagyu are looking to leverage the favourable provisions within the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement to establish or enhance their presence in the UK market.

The delegation will have the opportunity to meet with local experts to further understand overseas supply chains and market entry requirements.

Minister Jarvis is also set to meet with the Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries, the Right Honourable Mark Spencer MP, as well as the British Meat Processors Association, the International Meat Traders Association and Meat and Livestock Australia.

In addition, the delegation will attend the International Food & Drink event (IFE) in London, which will serve as a hub for more than 27,000 buyers for the UK’s entire food, drink, and hospitality supply chain – including stakeholders from Tesco, Marks & Spencer and British Airways.

The Cook Government will have a stand at the event to support WA’s agrifood businesses to showcase their products to global buyers.

 

WA.gov.au

 

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Eddie Bisknell | BBC News

Issues with the supply of lamb from New Zealand to the United Kingdom (UK) is having a knock-on effect with the sheep trade in Ireland.

Shipping through the Suez canal has recently become impossible for some ships, which have instead re-routed around the Cape of Good Hope in the south of Africa.

However, this has made the import of New Zealand lamb to the UK expensive, with Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) president Sean McNamara telling Agriland that it is “cheaper to buy the lamb here [in Ireland]”, as opposed to shipping it from the southern hemisphere, which has driven Irish prices up.

McNamara said that the top prices for hoggets this week in the sheep trade are ranging from €7.80-8.10/kg, adding that the trade is “very good” at the moment.

A factory procurement manager told Agriland that currently, “demand is good and the supply is half-decent”.

They added that many of the sheep coming into the factories lately are store lambs that were bought, and that these farmers who bought the stores are now bringing in a “scatter of heavy and a scatter or light” weight hoggets.

They said this particular trend, “seems to be the way this time of year”.

 

Colm Ryan | Agriland

 

A flying finished lamb trade and a positive outlook for the spring will offer some confidence to sheep farmers during the next few months.

Strong retail demand, tight supply, increased export trade and firm buyer interest in the build-up to Ramadan should all help to offer short-term support.

The deadweight lamb SQQ averaged £7/kg for the week ending 24 February, up 37% (189p/kg) on the same week last year.

Tight supplies of lamb have left processors looking for stock, with GB estimated slaughter figures back by about 8% compared with this time last year, to less than 200,000 head a week. This is due to a smaller lamb crop in 2023, and adverse weather slowing finishing on farm and restricting the number of hoggs coming forward.

Meanwhile, this year’s early lambers are being affected by a rise in cases of Schmallenberg disease, which could limit throughputs moving forward.

In Scotland, R3L-grade lambs averaged 696p/kg deadweight in mid-February, while old-season lambs at Scottish auction marts have been averaging about 315p/kg liveweight.

 

Charlie Reeve | Farmers Weekly

Farmers are being told to expect delays for this years peak lamb kill, with the season expected to be longer due to labour shortages.

Processors have been struggling with staff shortages for the past two years due to the border closure and staff being off sick with Covid-19.

AgriHQs latest market update said staff shortages had been a major problem for some processing plants and in some cases lambs were sent back to the farm as there were not enough staff to process them all.

 

Alliance Group, which operates five meatworks in the South Island and two in the lower North Island, had not had to send lambs back, but farmers were experiencing wait times of 10 to 14 days.

General manager livestock and shareholder services Danny Hailes said plants were still processing old season lambs.

Its Lorneville plant had been undergoing maintenance, but would be up to speed next week and the Smithfield plant will ramp up quickly after a one week maintenance shutdown from 28 November, he said.

“Any backlog that we have will be cleared pretty swiftly.”

 

Lorneville would start on two chains and would be operating six by Christmas. There was a goal of getting a seventh processing chain operating in the new year subject to labour.

Staffing had slightly improved with the border reopening but it was still not straightforward to bring in workers from overseas.

“We’re doing our best to get labour in from overseas in a way that suits our seasonal ramp up, but the reality is that we won’t have the numbers of people at the time that we want.”

Farmers should have their lambs processed as soon as they’re ready, he said. “Don’t hold off any longer than you need to.”

 

Silver Fern Farms chief supply chain officer Dan Boulton expected the labour situation to be marginally better than last season.

“However that’s coming off a relatively low base and so we still expect some disruption and delay in the season ahead.

“We’ve got to acknowledge that it’s been a long and challenging few seasons for many of our site staff, and our processing volumes will also be determined by how much sustainable overtime can be achieved without impacting our staff well-being.”

 

by Sally Murphy  / RNZ

 

Lamb supplies remain tight as inflation will play a major role in the supply of lamb onto the market, as well as impacting consumer demand.

Sheep prices were declining following seasonal trends in October.

According to AHDB, the average GB liveweight SQQ for the week ending October 26 was 223.19p/kg, 4.7p lower than the average price for the week ending September 28. Prices have also dipped below where they stood this time last year, down 16.5p/kg, but still sit above the five-year average by almost 35p/kg.

Conditions in the lamb market remain unsteady, as external pressures impact on consumer demand, export trends and lamb supply, according to the latest analysis from Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).

HCC data analyst Glesni Phillips said the lamb sector had been under pressure due to rising input costs, global trade impacts from the war in Ukraine and inflationary pressures on consumers.

“This has influenced liveweight prices at auction markets, which have fluctuated in recent weeks, while current throughput at abattoirs is below what we would expect for this time of year, suggesting a short-term increase in supply as the year end approaches,” she said.

 

by Alex Black / Farmers Guardian

The International Trade Committee today calls for an analysis of potential risks to the UK’s food security arising from the New Zealand trade deal.

In a new report on the UK’s trade agreement with New Zealand, the cross-party Committee of MPs raises concerns over the elimination of tariffs on New Zealand goods and the impact of opening UK agri-food markets to cheaper imports.

Much of New Zealand’s beef, sheep-meat and dairy are cheaper than those produced in the UK due to lower production costs.

With the Government’s impact assessment predicting that the UK’s agriculture, forestry, fishing, and semi-processed food sectors could contract due to increased competition, the Committee questions whether the pros and cons of tariff liberalisation have been fully considered.

While concluding that, on balance, the agreement should be ratified, the Committee outlines that it presents few new opportunities for UK exporters, and suggests more export opportunities or greater safeguards for the sector could have been negotiated.

The MPs criticise the absence of a single, unifying Government trade strategy and call for the publication of a clearly defined vision for trade, showing how it balances different priorities in the best interests of consumers and businesses. The Government’s approach to negotiating new deals is characterised as reactive and hasty, and not joined-up across departments. The Committee notes that current Treasury plans to raise taxes on higher-alcohol content beverages could negate measures in the agreement aimed at reducing the price of New Zealand wines.

The Committee also expresses shock that the UK is signing trade deals without thoroughly understanding how they interact with the Northern Ireland Protocol. MPs call on the Government to provide reassurance on how agreements between the UK, the EU and New Zealand will interact so that Northern Ireland can benefit from the trade deal in the same way as the rest of the UK.

The report calls for MPs to be given the opportunity to debate the agreement during the Parliamentary scrutiny period, with the ability to show their support, or otherwise, for it through a vote.

 

 

UK Parliament

Exports of Welsh lamb to new markets have rocketed by 227 per cent, demonstrating ’real appetite’ for renowned red meat brands, Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC) chair Catherine Smith has said.

The countries now taking the meat include Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Addressing delegates at SIAL Paris during a reception event hosted by HCC, Ms Smith revealed exports of Welsh lamb to Europe had also increased 22 per cent compared to last year, before paying tribute to Welsh farmers efforts in producing sustainable food.

“Independent research shows that lamb and beef produced in Wales has a lower carbon footprint compared with that from other parts of the world,” she said.

“We rely on healthy soils, natural rainwater and a respect for the land which has been instilled in us through generations.

“We are committed to becoming a global exemplar of how to produce quality food, sustainably and efficiently.”

 

by Hannah Binns / Farmers Guardian

British lamb has now been exported to the United States for the first time in over 20 years, in a deal estimated to be worth £37m in the first five years of trade.

The first consignment since the deal was struck last year was flown to the US this week, containing lamb produced by processors Dunbia from its site in Carmarthenshire.

A ban on British lamb exports to the US had been in place since 1989 due to concerns around BSE, commonly known as ‘mad cow disease’.

The small ruminant rule that banned the product was rescinded by the US government in January of this year.

The industry estimates that the US market will be worth £37m in the first five years of trade, opening up access for farmers to a market of over 300m consumers.

Andrew Smyth, commercial director at Dunbia said: “As the largest processor of lamb in the UK, it is imperative we continue to have access to new and emerging international markets, and we welcome the small ruminant rule amendment.

“We continue to work closely with AHDB to identify and develop new market opportunities for our quality British produce.”

 

Farming UK

Hard-pressed farming businesses are to be included in new measures to address soaring energy costs, but calls have been made for the government to go further and deem food production as ‘vulnerable’.

Businesses will get help with surging energy bills, with prices capped for six months, a smaller period of protection than many had asked for.

The support, announced by the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, will be made available for businesses in England, Wales and Scotland, with equivalent assistance for Northern Ireland.

The scheme will be in place for six months and will be reviewed in three month’s time “to consider where this should be targeted to make sure those most in need get support”.

When the review comes, farming and agri-food businesses must be considered as ‘vulnerable’, NFU Scotland has said, with an extended energy cost cap going beyond the proposed six months.

The union’s survey on electricity prices closed this week after 110 farming businesses shared their details on their rates and tariffs.

From a business perspective, nine out of ten farmers who replied were previously paying less than 20p per kWh for their electricity and are now having to deal with renewal rates and quotes coming in at up to 92p per kWh.

For some businesses, that has increased bill by tens of thousands, threatening their livelihoods.

 

By Farming UK