Current numbers tighter Reports of butchers paying up to £2 per live kg for new season lambs at sales immediately before Easter probably exaggerated the strength of the mainstream commercial trade. Prices in both the new season and hogget categories are definitely stronger than most observers predicted a few weeks ago, and opinion is shifting further towards the conclusion numbers still out on the farms are tighter than last year. But as in the cattle trade, retentions for subsidy make potential supply hard to gauge. Prices will now fall seasonally as new season numbers build up, while hogget stragglers are likely to run out of buyers. One possible source of market weakness would be renewed downward pressure on pig prices. {{MEAT }}

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