Camera at the mart was at Stirling Livestock Mart in Scotland, the main sale yard for United Auctions which sells approximately 120,000 cattle and over 600,000 sheep across eight sites annually.

In total, 4,912 animals were offered for sale, with 3,294 fat lambs brought forward. Trade was excellent, coming on the back of stronger demand for lambs late last week. Factory prices in Scotland last week were €5.05/kg.

There was a good mix of factory agents and wholesalers buying. Fat lambs sold to an average price of €2.08/kg with a full clearance of stock.

Heavy lambs weighing 48kg to 50kg were limited in numbers, but those that were offered for sale sold from £94 to £97 (€110 to €114).

The main run of factory lambs weighed from 43kg to 45kg, with well-fleshed Texel and Suffolk-cross lambs selling from £89 to £93/head (€104 to €109). Mule and Cheviot-cross lambs sold from £77 to £84/head (€90 to €98).

Lighter lambs weighing 40kg to 42kg sold from £75 to £79 (€88 to €92) for lowland breeds, while good-quality lambs with hill breeding sold back to £70 (€82).

Fleshed ewes sold from £80 to £85 (€94 to €100), with feeding ewes selling for £15 to £20 (€17 to €23) below this.