British to pay a premium for Christmas leg of lamb

By LIAM DANN

British consumers looking forward to a traditional Christmas leg of New Zealand lamb can expect to pay more for it this year.

Pre-Christmas chilled lamb exports are down almost 30 per cent on last year following a poor start to the season.

Chilled lamb destined for the UK Christmas market traditionally provides the industry with some of the best prices of the season.

Early spring storms on the east coast of the North Island and late frosts in the South Island have contributed to the big drop in lamb numbers this season.

By mid-October lamb losses were up 5 per cent on the previous season, according to the Meat and Wool Innovation Economic Service (MWI).

As well as increased losses, bad spring weather has hampered growth, meaning fewer lambs were ready for slaughter in time for pre-Christmas exports, says New Zealand Meat and Fibre Producers chairman Ian Corney.

But some parts of the country were now getting good growth, Corney said.

Lambs were just like everyone else when it came to growing. "They like a bit of sunshine and a bit of warm weather and we're only just starting to get it now."

He was optimistic that production across the whole season would recover to more normal levels.

MWI executive director Rob Davison said it was the worst start to a season in five years but that the latest figures showed an improvement.