Members Update – 10th July 2026

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Product Competitions – Last Day to Enter

Quality Meat Scotland – Lamb Market Update

UK Sausage Week 2026 – 26^th October – 1^st November

 

Product Competitions – Last Day to Enter

Three product competitions for August 2026:

• 2026 Beef Burger Scottish Championship, kindly sponsored by Dalesman
• 2026 Black Pudding Scottish Championship, kindly sponsored by Dalziel
• 2026 30 Minute Ready Meal Scottish Championship, kindly sponsored by Scotweigh

Entries are now open via our website https://www.craftbutchers.co.uk/product-category/competitions/ , with a closing date of 10th July 2026.

Please note the collection points for entries.

Collection Points (optional)
You may, if you wish, select your drop-off point in the online entry and deliver to that drop off point on Thursday 6th August time listed at each point below

• 10am – W Reid, 16 Harbour Street, Hopeman, IV30 5SJ – 01343 830300
• 11am – Shaws Fine Meats, 12 Market Place, Lauder, TD2 6SR – 01578 722306
• 11am -James Chapman (Butchers) Ltd, Glasgow Road, Wishaw, ML2 7PG – 01698 372028
• 11am – John M Munro, Queensgate, Inverness, IV1 1DJ – 01463 233066
• 11am – Kilnford Farm Retail Ltd, Kilnford Farm, Dumfries, DG2 8PT – 01387 253087
• 11am – Scottish Craft Butchers, 8 Needless Road, Perth, PH2 0JW – 01738 637472
• 11am – Gordon McWilliam (Aberdeen) Ltd, 37 St Clement St, Aberdeen, AB11 5FU – 01224 211174

If you have any questions or require further information, feel free to get in touch.

Quality Meat Scotland – Lamb Market Update Q2

The lamb market is coming under some seasonal pressure but remains historically firm for the time of year. Please find our market update attached, which also contains some coverage of the wider economic situation influencing the sector, including input costs, exchange rates and retail sales.

Here is the summary of key points:

Lamb market – recent developments

• Having held firm for around a fortnight after the Eid al-Adha festival at the end of May, lamb prices began to show their traditional seasonal decline from around mid-June.
• Lamb prices are estimated to have fallen to just under £3.80/kg lwt in the first week of July at Scottish marts, which would still be around 6.5% above year-earlier levels, when the seasonal decline was unusually weak, and nearly 25% above the five-year average, highlighting the continuing strength of the lamb market.
• Lamb prices have remained historically high for the time of year despite new season lamb throughput at Scottish auctions running well above 2025 levels and ahead of the five-year average. However, overall lamb availability has been tighter than last year due to this year’s hoggs being marketed earlier.
• External factors remain bullish, with UK export volumes rising another 12% in the first third of 2026, and at higher prices, while imports were more stable. Meanwhile, a strong global lamb market and production constraints have supported Southern Hemisphere pricing, pushing up UK import prices significantly this year.
• Overall UK lamb market supply is estimated to have been similar to last year in the first five months of 2026, with increased production (supported by heavier carcase weights) offset by higher export volumes while imports were relatively flat. Given this context, elevated pricing signals that demand has remained supportive this year.

Lamb market outlook

• Based on the five-year average pricing trend, lamb prices tend to fall by more than 35% between their new season high and autumn low point. If this was to be repeated in 2026, the price floor could be about £3/kg lwt. However, not every year is the same, as was demonstrated in 2025, where the autumn low was only 20% down on the new season high, whereas this year prices have already fallen 20% from the new season peak by the first week of July.
• Lamb numbers are set to increase significantly from their seasonal lows through July and into August, with the build towards an autumn high then likely to happen at a slower pace. Due to last year’s slow marketing pattern, there is the potential for numbers to continue looking elevated throughout the autumn. It is too early to tell how good a lamb crop we have this year, but a small increase in the breeding flock at the end of the year could at least point towards a similar level to last year even if lambing rates haven’t been as high.
• While domestic demand has been strong, there is a risk that sales volumes could come under some pressure if higher farmgate prices pass through to consumer prices, although lamb is more of a niche product with a lower degree of price sensitivity than beef.
• Externally, imports are seasonally lower in the second half and volumes could struggle to match last year’s levels given a slowdown in Southern Hemisphere production. Import prices are set to remain elevated due to sluggish availability and firm demand. On the export side, a tight EU market is set to provide continuing support to UK exports.

Economic developments

• Energy markets spent much of 2025 relatively insulted from geopolitical issues due to fundamentally strong oil supply. In 2026, this changed dramatically with the US-Iran conflict triggering a major energy and fertiliser supply shock, with knock on effects for prices of many inputs derived from oil and gas. However, a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes in June led to a sharp reduction in oil prices, although gas prices proved more stubborn. These reductions will be filtering through to input prices at a lag and are unlikely to have fully fallen back. In addition, risk premia could remain built into pricing due to the potential for a re-escalation.
• More positively for the supply chain, higher oil prices may have supported some by-product values, particularly fats.
• Generally positive global crop prospects have ensured that grain and oilseeds prices remain relatively soft compared to recent years. Fears around the US harvest which built during the spring had pushed up crop prices slightly, but this pressure has now dissipated.
• A slight strengthening of sterling against the euro could have a slight impact on export competitiveness and returns, while a further weakening of the NZ dollar is likely to limit the rise in lamb import prices, though these movements are likely to have only a very small impact given an overall bullish trade environment.
• Spending on red meat continued to grow significantly into the second quarter, although increased consumer prices resulted in reduced sales volumes. Poultry appears to have benefited most from substitution away from beef following a surge in consumer prices last year, but some cuts of lamb and pork may have also received a boost.
• A mixed economic picture remains. On the positive side, consumer spending continues to grow, supported by wages outpacing inflation and weakness in consumer confidence relates to the general economic environment rather than personal finances. The potential for volatility in fuel and energy prices remains a downside risk.
  
  QMS Lamb Market Update Q2 2026

 UK Sausage Week 2026 – 26^th October – 1^st November

UK Sausage Week is back for 2026! The premier initiative celebrating one of the public’s favourite meal-time staples will run throughout the last week of October (Monday 26^th October – Sunday 1^st November), and nominations are now open.

• Butchers’ shops and retailers across the UK are expected to run in-store promotions
• Some of the country’s biggest manufacturers have entered the annual competition
• Previous years have seen event coverage from ITV’s This Morning and both BBC and commercial radio

A full press release is attached along with an image of previous UKSW Supreme Sausage Champion Wicks Manor.

   If you have any questions, please contact:

 MEMBER SERVICES – Bruce McCall:                           [email protected]                01738 637472

CRAFT SKILLS SCOTLAND – Claire Simpson:             [email protected]                          01738 637785