Base lamb quotes have held from earlier in the week, with base prices in the main ranging from €6.10-€6.40/kg plus quality assurance bonuses. When these are added in, a lot of lambs will be seen to be trading at €6.30-€6.50/kg, even for smaller suppliers.

Numbers of quality fleshed lambs remain tight at the minute, with agents eager to secure numbers.

Producer groups or those with greater selling power should be able to secure an additional 5-10c/kg ahead of the above prices, with those with the ability to secure confirmation bonuses seeing highs of €6.70-€6.75/kg being paid.

The two Irish Country Meats plants are quoting a base of €6.10/kg plus their higher QA payment of 20c/kg. Reports indicate plants not quoting are offering opening quotes of €6.15/kg to €6.20/kg or a price of €6.30/kg for quality assured lambs. Factories are keen to attract higher numbers forward, with supplies tightening. Last week’s kill figure of 60,788 is a minute increase on the week previous.

While lamb throughput had reduced significantly two weeks ago, last week’s kill figure of 49,633 lambs slaughtered is on par with the same week last year, when 49,503 lambs passed through factories.

Overall lamb throughput is up 2.3% on this time last year, with 1,982,153 lambs slaughtered to date, approximately 50,000 head higher than for the same period in 2022.

Ewe trade

On the flip side, ewe and ram kill is significantly down on last year, with throughput figures of 257,345 sheep to date, down from the 2022 figure of 287,704 head, equating to a drop in throughput of 10.6%.

There is less life in the ewe trade, with no significant difference in quotes and less demand from factories. Prices differ significantly on ewe quality and fleshing, with the five main processing plants quoting prices of €2.60/kg (plus QA bonuses) to €3.00/kg for heavier fleshed ewes, falling back to €2.50/kg to €2.60/kg for plainer-quality or lighter ewes and back to as low as €2.20/kg for ewes lacking significant flesh.

Plants or smaller-scale abattoirs specialising in the ewe trade are paying €3.20/kg to €3.40/kg for top-quality, heavier ewes.

Farmers are urged to where they are moving significant numbers of ewes to check pricing variation for different ewe types and weight classes before heading to the factory.

Northern Ireland

Factories in Northern Ireland have shown greater appetite for numbers this week, and despite marts reporting higher numbers moving through the ring, lamb prices are edging upwards.

Official factory quotes are up 10p/kg to 525p/kg (€6.43/kg inc. VAT) with deals running 5p to 10p/kg above this level to a 21kg carcase limit. Marts have seen prices rising by £2 to £3 and are trending marginally ahead of factory prices.

However, with a five-day strike by vets and meat inspectors pushing factories to close next week, there may be some price pressure once plants resume processing again