Factory agents have dug in hard on price this week and are resisting upward movement, despite keen demand for lambs.

There were hopes last week that competing factories would push on and match the 10c/kg increase in the two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants announced last week.

However, this has failed to materialise, with no budge in base quotes.

This leaves ICM and Ballon Meats ahead on quotes, with their opening offer of €7.80/kg for quality assured (QA) lambs.

While other plants have not officially increased base quotes, regular sellers and producers handling big numbers are having success in negotiating above the base quotes, but sellers handling small numbers are facing opposition.

Some mart managers comment that they have witnessed lambs from such sellers being offered live in recent days.

At the higher end of the market, agents are also trying to hold the line at €7.90/kg to €8/kg.

Producers that were trading in this territory before last week’s price increase have pushed for a price above the €8/kg mark, but, for many agents, they are not willing to pass this price point with a stand-off developing in cases.

There are some deals reported above the €8/kg mark, but, as yet, they are confined to sellers with excellent bargaining power.

Agents are also holding the line at 22.5kg carcase weight, with only a small number of deals paid to some sellers and groups at 23kg carcase weight.

This is said to be causing significant frustration where some groups are securing the higher carcase weight limit, but other sellers trading in the same plant are not.

Last week’s kill remained unchanged at 38,272 head. It is the first time in a long period that throughput has trended above the corresponding week in 2024 (2,532 head higher) for two consecutive weeks.

There appears to be more demand for ewes in some plants. This is reflected in Kildare Chilling increasing its base quote for good-quality ewes by 20c/kg to €4.50/kg plus their 10c/kg QA payment.

This leaves ewes at the lower end of the market ranging from €4.30/kg to €4.70/kg, while prices at the top end of the market in plants or abattoirs specialising in the ewe trade are upwards of €5/kg.

Northern Ireland

There are also signs of more life in the trade in Northern Ireland, but agents are also trying to keep a lid on price at a base of £6.40/kg (€7.26/kg).

Regular sellers and groups are trading from £6.45/kg to £6.50/kg, with traders operating at the top end of the market securing 10p/kg above the going rate.

Agents purchasing lambs for export to Ireland and Britain are said to be active and are adding competition to the trade.

Reports indicate demand in Britain is firmer, with returns climbing above the £6.70/kg (€7.60/kg) mark.