Factory agents are looking to capitalise on an opportunity to take back some control of the sheep trade.

The level of competition in the market has been reduced by live export and wholesale buyers reducing activity this week, with orders largely filled for the Islamic religious festival of Eid al-Adha.

This has reduced competition in the live trade, with prices coming back in line with factory returns and reducing by anywhere from €20 to €30-plus per head.

Base quotes for Thursday are variable. Ballon Meats has maintained its all-in lamb quote at €10/kg, but Dawn Kildare has reduced by 40c/kg to a base of €9.50/kg-plus its 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants have reduced their base quotes by 10c/kg to a base of €9.70/kg, plus their 20c/kg QA payment for Thursday only.

Reports indicate that factories are trying to dig in at this level having been boosted by higher numbers coming on stream.

Hogget quotes have reduced to a lesser extent. Dawn Kildare’s base quote of €9/kg is down 20c/kg on last week, with ICM back 10c to €9.10/kg.

Reports indicate that many plants have done deals with larger suppliers or specialist finishers at a given price for this week, ranging from €9.50/kg to €9.70/kg. This is mainly for hoggets killing at less than the desired upper carcase weight of 23kg.

Last week’s sheep throughput jumped by about 13,000 head on the previous week and was recorded at 44,804. This included 24,079 hoggets, 14,944 lambs and 5,781 hoggets.

Hogget throughput rebounded by about 6,000 head compared with the previous week, while lamb throughput increased by about 7,000 head.

While some plants were focusing on lambs and hoggets, demand for ewes remains firm. Quotes are in the region of €5.10/kg to €5.30/kg in most plants, with Ballon Meats continuing to pay €5.50/kg-plus.

The live trade is also steady and is a good alternative outlet for any producer struggling to negotiate with agents.

Northern Ireland

Base quotes in Northern Ireland have taken a hammering, with ABP Linden the only plant quoting a base of £8.40/kg (€9.72/kg) for lambs. This equates to a fall of 70p/kg compared with last week.

Reports indicate that plants have become more selective and, as can be seen in the quotes table, factories have ceased quoting for hoggets.

Last week’s sheep kill increased by about 1,000 head to 8,965. There were no figures released at the time of going to print regarding exports out of Northern Ireland for direct slaughter for last week.

There are also reports of some price pressure on the trade in Britain, with high numbers coming on to the market. Reports indicate that prices are being pulled back towards £9/kg (€10.41/kg), with further cuts threatened.