There may still be too many heavyweight hoggets coming on to the market for many buyers liking, but if the trade in the first half of this week is anything to go by it isn’t dampening their enthusiasm much, with the SQQ rising strongly in a number of markets.
At Skipton on Monday the SQQ saw a 13p jump to settle at 218p/kg, while at Carlisle on the same day it rose by an impressive 20p to sit at 244p/kg. Meanwhile at Wigton on Tuesday the SQQ hit 240p/kg a rise of 19p/kg on the week and further south at Melton on the same day trade levelled a 220p/kg, up by 11p on the previous week’s sale.
And, finally yesterday Brecon and Stratford saw rises of 6p and 7p respectively.
So, while the number of lambs meeting spec may not be ideal, it seems buyers aren’t being too fussy as we come towards the back end of the hogget trading. That said there is still some consumer resistance with recent press reports suggesting consumption has fallen by nearly 20% in the last 12 months.
However, on the good news front apparently eating red meat staves off depression, so if you’re feeling a bit down then it’s a lamb or a decent steak to the rescue it seems!
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