Tuesday’s sale at Roscommon Mart saw a flying trade for a small entry of spring lambs on offer.

With Easter quickly approaching, butchers were very active for all good-quality spring lambs. At the top of the market, one 46kg lamb sold for €146, while a pen of six lambs weighing 49.3kg on average sold for €145 each. Other good-quality well-fleshed spring lambs sold from €133 to €140/head for those from 49kg to 52kg in weight.

The best prices were paid for good-quality and well-fleshed types, with a strong premium for spring lamb so far. On a price-per-kilo basis, prices ranged from €2.60/kg to €3.17/kg.

There was a good entry of hoggets which were met with strong factory demand. Prices of top-quality heavy types topped out at €136/head for a pen of 58.7kg ewe hoggets.

Other heavy lambs over 50kg sold from €120 to €126/head. There were a few pens of lighter hoggets weighing 42kg to 44kg. These were mainly bought by farmers and sold from €88 to €90/head.

There was a flying trade for ewes with lambs at foot. Prices for those with pairs ranged mainly from €200 to €285/lot, with the majority of better-quality types selling for over €250. Young ewes with singles at foot sold from €162 to €200/lot. Commission rates are €1.25/head to the buyer and 1.6% to the seller.