Declan Fennell, Sector Manager, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board
It is a long standing tradition that families and friends will come together this Sunday to celebrate Easter, as always a roast leg of lamb will take centre stage. Over the last number of weeks retailers and butchers alike have been busy preparing for the week-end ahead, ensuring they have adequate supplies of lamb on their shelves.
Whilst lamb has always been synonymous with Easter it also commands a privileged position with its long-running traditional link with other religious festivals such as Ramadan and Eid-Ul-Fitr. As a protein of choice for Muslim consumers, sheep meat commands an all-year-round demand in some of our key export markets such as France, Sweden and the UK.
This year Easter will fall on 21 April, this will be followed by Ramadan some two weeks later, for the period 5 May to 5 June. The timing of these festivities will provide a significant impetus to trade demand over that period. Beyond 2019, both Easter and Ramadan will converge again, with just one week separating them, in 2021.
The convergence of these two religious festivities presents a significant opportunity for sheep farmers but also a challenge in meeting peak demand in a short space of time.
For further information on the performance of Irish lamb, read the Global Sheep Markets Review & Outlook.