MARKET support mechanisms for the sheepmeat sector are encouraging the ''empty ewe'' syndrome and causing the loss of market opportunities at home and abroad, according to meat wholesalers.
They claim that with recent market conditions, too many producers have been content to run a ewe flock to collect the subsidies without producing lamb.
''The British market is under-supplied with home produced lamb, which is one of the products for which our conditions are most suited,'' said Janet Lim of the Federation of Fresh Meat Wholesalers following its annual conference at the weekend.
''It is of great concern to us that too many producers may be taking their eyes off the ball of satisfying market needs, and that means quality as well as quantity.
''Lamb meat must be produced at affordable prices for a quality product. There should be no misunderstanding about this because lamb meat has no commercial future as a luxury food item.''
John Thorley, chief executive of National Sheep Association, also admitted to concern about the empty ewe syndrome but put this down more to the depressed state of the market, largely due to export problems and the UK's specified risk materials legislation, rather than the subsidy system.
However, some carcasses have been exported in recent weeks and there was a real hope for agreement with the French on the split carcass issue.
''All we will need then is for the pound to go down against the French franc,'' said Thorley.
Because of their links with the lamb market price, ewe subsidies are regarded as part of the ''blue box'' of support measures which may be axed in the next round of the World Trade Organisation talks.
However, there are hopes that, because Europe is a major importer of third country lamb - the UK imports some 220,000 tonnes of New Zealand lamb a year - the
subsidies may continue.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article