Canadian sheep and lamb slaughter increased by 9% between 2012 and 2013. The Canadian slaughter graph, figure 1 below, illustrates that most lamb is slaughtered in provincial packing facilities and that the increase in slaughter was spread throughout the year. Slaughter in federal packing facilities increased by 5% and slaughter in provincial packing facilities increased by 11% in 2013.
Figure 1.
In Ontario, sheep and lamb slaughter increased by 15% in 2013 compared to 2012. As illustrated in the Ontario slaughter graph, figure 2 below, the Ontario statistics follow the same trends as the Canadian statistics with most lamb being slaughtered in provincially inspected facilities. In Ontario, the provincial packing plant slaughter increased by 14.7% and the federal packing plant slaughter 15.9% in 2013. The Ontario mature sheep slaughter increased by 6% between 2012 and 2013.
Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows that the majority of the increase in Canadian slaughter is the result of an increase in the Ontario slaughter. A small increase in slaughter was also seen in the west while Quebec and the Atlantic provinces experienced a small decrease in the number of animals slaughtered. Ontario continues to slaughter more than half of the sheep and lambs in Canada.
Figure 3.
Ontario’s share of the Canadian slaughter in federal and provincial plants increased to 55% in 2013 from 51.5% in 2012. The number of lambs going through live auction has shown a steady increase since 2010. As illustrated in the Slaughter and Live Market Volume graph, figure 4 below, the Ontario live market and slaughter numbers increased in a similar manner to the Canadian slaughter numbers.
Figure 4.
Figure 5 compares the Ontario January 1st breeding flock numbers, Ontario average yearly price for 80-94 pound lambs, number of head slaughtered in Ontario and the amount of sheep and lamb meat imported to Ontario. Lower prices experienced in 2012 did not result in an increase in slaughter or a decrease in the ewe flock in 2012, but continued low prices in 2013 correspond with a significant increase in Ontario slaughter in 2013.
Figure 5. Ontario Trends of Price, Flock Size, Slaughter and Imports
Source: These graphs have been generated from statistics available from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Red Meat Information.
