Demand for all categories of sheep remains robust, with slaughter-fit lambs continuing to appear in relatively small numbers.
The general run of prices for top-quality lambs weighing from 50kg to 53kg is from €205 to €220/head, with plainer-quality types lacking flesh cover being purchased by factory agents at prices ranging back to €200/head and lower.
Small numbers of heavier lots weighing upwards of 55kg are attracting a premium on price and selling to €230/head and higher in isolated cases.
Lambs weighing from 48kg to 49kg are selling on average from €190 to €202/head, while those weighing from 46kg to 47kg are selling from the mid-€180s to the mid-€190s depending on flesh cover.
There is a wider differential for lambs weighing from 44kg to 45kg, with prices ranging from the low-€160s to the mid- to high-€170s for young well-fleshed lambs capable of achieving a high kill-out.
The store trade is solid, with good demand evident, even in areas challenged by low grass growth rates, with lower numbers in the market helping to keep a floor under prices.
The general run of prices is in the region of €3.70/kg to €4/kg, with select lots of well-presented stores selling to €4.20/kg-plus.
At the other end of the price scale, plainer-quality lambs are selling back to €3.30/kg.
Hogget numbers are climbing gradually, with sales still remaining relatively small.
The best-quality and stronger-type hoggets are trading in the main from €290 to €330/head.
Good-quality but lighter lots requiring feeding before going to the ram are trading from €250 to €280/head, while some light-boned and smaller-framed types are selling back to €220/head, but such types are low in number to date.
Cull ewes are a solid trade, with the best trade evident where agents purchasing for live export or to supply abattoirs involved in the ewe trade are active.
A price range of €2.20/kg to €2.55/kg continues to buy a high percentage of fleshed ewes, with select lots of well-conformed ewes capable of delivering high-quality carcases selling to €2.70/kg-plus.