A lift in mart prices has been the main talking point in the sheep trade in the last week. While many plants have increased base quotes by 5c/kg to a base of €4.85/kg, the lift in mart prices has been far greater. Many mart managers and farmers report higher demand and competition in marts pushing equivalent deadweight prices to at least €5.20/kg to €5.30/kg.

It is apparent from the prices being paid that factory agents are being given extra purchasing power or offered a higher price. Reports suggest adopting this approach has allowed plants to source extra lambs for the Christmas trade without having to raise prices significantly across the board.

Farmers negotiating sales are, in many cases, facing stiff opposition in trying to negotiate above €5.10/kg, with plants keen to maintain a lid on general prices paid.

However, factories remain keen to secure any lambs available. Most sellers, even with small numbers of lambs, are negotiating €5.00/kg to €5.05/kg without any great difficulty.

Producer groups are trading at €5.15/kg to €5.20/kg by means of bonuses paid, with some groups on higher quotes when transport is factored into the equation.

Plants have also increased activity for northern lambs, with agents purchasing for southern plants competing significantly harder in the last week to 10 days.

With northern factory quotes remaining stable at £3.90/kg or the equivalent of €5.20/kg including VAT, southern buyers are having to match or exceed these levels to entice sheep south. The extra activity has seen the number of lambs travelling south for direct slaughter increase to 10,814 last week.

This has also had an impact on the northern kill, with throughput of lambs reducing 500 head to 7,955 last week. Despite the reduced kill in recent weeks, throughput for the year remains 46,327 head above 2013 levels.

The trade in Great Britain also remains relatively stable, with prices ranging in the main from £4.10/kg to £4.20/kg or the equivalent of €5.46/kg to €5.60/kg. The French trade continues to strengthen as processors put more lamb together for the Christmas market. Prices for Irish grade one lamb increased to €5.20/kg at the start of the week with grade two trading at €5.00/kg.

Lively ewe trade: The cull ewe trade is following a similar pattern to lambs, with factory agents extremely active in marts to source ewes and compensate for lower lamb supplies. Plants are quoting €2.80/kg, but reports suggest deals of €3/kg are commonplace, with dealers securing €3.20/kg or higher for light ewes.

Christmas trade: Most plants are processing sheep on Monday and Tuesday and reopening on 29 December. Agents are active this week to secure large lots of sheep for the Christmas period, reportedly offering a 5c/kg premium to move lambs. With Christmas falling later in the week, most marts are running until Saturday.