The factory lamb trade has held static over the last week. Demand in some plants varied slightly over the weekend, influenced by the volume of lambs agents were able to purchase in sales and off the land.

In general, prices have changed very little. Quotes in most plants remain on a base of €4.50/kg, with Moyvalley and Ballon Meats continuing to top the quotes on a base quote of €4.60/kg. The majority of sellers are securing €4.60/kg to €4.70/kg with quality assurance (QA) a big negotiating factor in most plants.

The two ICM plants are paying 10c/kg for QA lamb, while Kildare has been paying a 5c/kg QA bonus for well over a year.

Sellers with large lots of lambs and those marketing through producer groups are securing €4.70/kg to €4.75/kg, while there are also sellers who have secured a top price of €4.80/kg.

Last week’s kill of 60,119 was maintained by factories significantly increasing activity in the North. The number of sheep imported for direct slaughter doubled from 3,129 the previous week to 7,155 head. With Northern plants quoting £3.60/kg and the exchange rate remaining at 79p to the euro, northern lambs are selling for the equivalent of €4.80/kg, including VAT.

This is still 2,500 head below last year’s levels with Northern plants increasing throughput to handle higher numbers of lambs coming on stream. Last week’s kill totalled 12,887 head, bringing year-to-date total to 220,671, almost 50,000 ahead of 2013 levels (172,699).

IFA’s John Lynskey said it is clear that factories can pay more for lambs based on the higher prices they paid for a big increase in Northern imports last week. He said that strong sellers negotiating hard are securing €4.80/kg to a carcase weight of 22kg.

Throughput in Irish plants is running just shy of 20,000 above last year’s levels. When lower NI imports of over 63,000 head are taken into the equation, there are in excess of 80,000 more sheep moved to date off Irish farms.

Ewe trade: The ewe trade is solid, with quotes ranging from €2.40/kg to €2.60/kg. There are deals being completed 10c/kg to 15c/kg above this with allowances also being negotiated on weight.

A strong live trade, boosted by live export and farmer demand for feeding cull ewes, is witnessing factory agents having to compete harder to get stock. In the marts, large-framed, fleshed ewes are selling from €90 to €115 per head.

Breeding sales starting strong: Small volumes of hogget ewes appearing in sales are meeting keen farmer demand. Prices for good quality hoggets range from €160 to €180 with a strong cull ewe trade giving buyers more purchasing power. Second- and third-crop lowland ewes are selling from €100 to €130 per head.