Wholesale buyers had much more purchasing power than factory agents in last week’s sheep sale in Carnew Mart.

Manager David Quinn reported that heavier lambs weighing from 52kg to 59kg sold from €186 to €192/head with only a small number of plainer-quality types below.

Factory agents were more active for lambs weighing 48kg to 50kg, but, again, the strong appetite from wholesalers pushed prices beyond their reach for a large number of lots, with lambs selling from €175 to €185/head.

There was also good demand for lighter lots suitable for slaughter, with 45kg to 47kg lots selling from €160 to €168.

Demand for stores was solid. Lambs weighing from 40kg to 43kg sold from €3.60/kg to €3.80/kg in the main, with some choice ewe lambs rising to €4/kg to €4.40/kg.

Lighter lots

Lighter lots from 36kg to 39kg saw similar trends, while lambs weighing from 28kg to 34kg sold on average from €3/kg for plain-quality types to upwards of €3.50/kg for well-presented types.

A small selection of heavy large-framed ewes topped the €200 mark, while the general run ranged from €180 to €200.

Fleshed medium-weight and crossbred lots sold from €155 to €175, with light ewes back to €100 and some boner-types back to €50 to €70/head.

In pictures

This batch of eight ewe lambs averaging 32kg sold for €134 each (€4.19/kg).

This pair of black-fleeced lambs averaging 44kg sold for €161 each (€3.66/kg).

These 25 Cheviot and Suffolk-cross-Cheviot ram lambs averaging 26.1kg sold for €84 each (€3.22/kg).

Weighing 43.3kg on average, this batch of 12 mixed lambs sold for €157/head (€3.63/kg).

Seven lambs weighing 40.3kg sold for €149 each (€3.70/kg), while 34kg lambs sold for €134 each.