Factory appetite for sheep has started the week strongly, with agents active in sourcing lambs in direct farm sales and continuing to supplement throughput with strong purchasing activity in mart sales.

Most plants have increased quotes to a base of €5.80/kg, with one plant in the east quoting a base of €5.90/kg for today. This has made the price range for lambs €5.90/kg to €5.95/kg in a high percentage of cases. Lambs at the top of the market are trading at €6.00/kg and possibly 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher for R and U grade lambs traded through groups.

Solid mart trade

Marts held over the weekend and on Monday have also reported a really solid trade. Auctioneer George Candler reported this Monday's sale as a fast-selling trade, with a top price of €136 paid for a pen of super-quality 50kg lambs in Kilkenny. Other top-quality butcher-type lambs weighing over 50kg sold from €130 to €135.

Factory-weight lambs in the 42kg to 46kg bracket sold from €110 to €125, with condition having a large influence on the final sale price. Lighter lambs weighing 39kg to 42kg are listed as selling from €100 to €111, with factory agents active once lambs had a good cover of flesh. Their attempts to purchase lambs were also met with some competition from farmers starting to source short-keep and store lambs.

The cull ewe trade has also firmed, with factory prices of €2.60/kg to €2.70/kg more common, while there are reports of up to €2.80/kg paid to sellers handling large numbers or having more negotiating power with both lambs and ewes offered.

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