The sheep trade has moved on another notch in recent days as numbers tighten and factories chase supplies.

Base quotes remain similar, with factories slow to lift prices across the board. Instead, the approach being taken is to negotiate directly with specialist finishers or those with significant numbers on hand, which is providing factories with a good foundation on which to work from.

Reports indicate that prices at the higher end of the market have increased by 5c/kg to 10c/kg, with top prices reported at €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg, with some of these deals also including part or full transport costs.

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This very much depends on the number of hoggets in the batch. Meanwhile, individual sellers handling smaller numbers are typically trading in the region of €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg for quality assured hoggets.

Mart trade

Some producers struggling to negotiate on price are opting to present hoggets in mart sales. The trade here has also firmed, with sales held over the weekend and on Monday reporting prices rising anywhere from €2 to €5/head.

Reporting on the sale in Ennis Mart, Co Clare, manager Martin McNamara said that hogget prices were improved by as much as €5 to €10, with the higher price rise mainly related to heavier fleshed hoggets.

Martin said that many lots exceeded a price of €3.10/kg, with top prices reaching €174 to €179 for batches of top-quality hoggets weighing from 52.5kg to 57kg.

The cull ewe trade was also brighter, with heavy fleshed lots trading in a price range of €1.89/kg to €2.08/kg and a top price of €198 for a pen of great-quality ewes weighing 98kg.

Athenry trade

It was a similar story in Athenry Mart, Co Galway. Heavy hoggets weighing from 55kg to 60kg upwards sold from €160 to €170/head, with a selection of pens exceeding this range to a top of €177 for 61kg.

Hoggets weighing in the region of 50kg to 52kg sold from €155 to €160, with a few pens lacking flesh back to €150/head.

Cull ewes

The cull ewe trade has firmed, with factories quoting a price of €3.60/kg to €3.70/kg and paying 10c/kg to 20c/kg higher to sellers handling significant numbers.

The trade in marts is being driven by a number of live exporters active, in particular in marts in the west and midlands, while a number of wholesale buyers are driving the trade in the east of the country.

The increased competition has witnessed the heaviest cull ewes exceed a price of €200, while heavy ewes weighing in the region of 90kg to 95kg are trading from €170 to €200/head.

The sharp trade is also trickling down through weight categories, with ewes weighing 80kg trading anywhere from €140 to €165, depending on condition, while ewes in the region of 70kg are trading from €100 upwards for those with an average cover of flesh to €125 to €140 for the best-quality types.

Northern trade

Northern plants have had to increase quotes to compete, with agents active in marts and direct farm sales and sourcing sheep for direct slaughter in southern plants.

Prices on offer at the higher end of the market are in the region of £5.70/kg to £5.80/kg or the equivalent of €6.77/kg to 6.89/kg.

Northern Ireland producers do not receive the VAT top-up that farmers who are unregistered for VAT in Ireland do.

The strengthening in the trade has brought prices on a par with British prices and closed the differential which had existed for the last few months.