Sheep slaughter numbers to fall by up to 15,000 this autumn
Thursday 27th August 2026 on 19:45 in
Iceland
The number of sheep sent for slaughter in Iceland is expected to fall by 10,000 to 15,000 this year, while the price paid to sheep farmers for each kilogram of carcass meat will rise by 4.9%, mbl.is reports.
Farmers are now registering with slaughterhouses and booking the number of animals they plan to deliver. The typical price at the start of the slaughter season is about 1,120 Icelandic krónur per kilogram, before additional payments and conditions are taken into account.
The Farmers’ Association of Iceland says it is difficult to assess the impact of slaughterhouses in northern and eastern Iceland ending additional payments for carcasses weighing less than 13.5 kilograms. The effect of lower prices for meat from adult sheep at the Sláturfélag Suðurlands slaughterhouse in October is also uncertain.
Based on deliveries in 2025 and including a price supplement paid during the first half of 2026, the calculated increase is 1.4% for lamb meat and 2.1% for meat from adult sheep. The overall increase is generally in line with price developments, the association says.
“Sheep farmers are now facing considerable uncertainty in their operations. Product prices are rising slightly, but at the same time input costs are increasing because of instability in international affairs,” said Eyjólfur Ingvi Bjarnason, chairman of the sheep farmers’ division of the Farmers’ Association of Iceland.
He said farmers’ inputs include fuel, fertiliser, plastic, transport and many other costs linked directly or indirectly to energy prices. Sheep farms are particularly vulnerable because production takes a long time and farmers cannot quickly respond to changing operating conditions. Production decisions are made well before products are sold, while costs are often incurred long before the autumn price is known.
Iceland’s sheep slaughterhouses include Fjallalamb in Kópasker, Norðlenska in Húsavík, Kaupfélag Skagfirðinga in Sauðárkrókur, Sláturfélag Vestur-Húnvetninga in Hvammstangi and SS in Selfoss. Smaller artisanal slaughterhouses operate in Borgarnes and Vopnafjörður.
About 375,000 lambs, meaning sheep born in the spring, are expected to be slaughtered this autumn. That is a decrease of 10,000 from last year. Around 40,000 adult sheep will also be slaughtered.