Mountbellew Mart in Co Galway witnessed a lively trade for fleshed lambs at its weekly sale on Saturday.

There was an entry of over 700 lambs and about 170 cull ewes, with the recent recovery in lamb prices enticing higher number forward.

The trade for slaughter-fit lambs was underpinned by keen demand from factory agents, but butcher and wholesale buyers were also active for select top-quality lots, leading to increased competition.

Top price

A top price of €170/head was recorded on five occasions for quality fleshed lambs weighing from 52kg to 54kg and a pen of top-quality Suffolk ewe lambs weighing 48.7kg.

This batch of 14 Texel crossbred ram lambs weighing 44kg sold for €140 each (€3.18/kg).

The general run of prices for lambs weighing 50kg to 52kg ranged from €160 to €167/ head, with a couple of pens of heavier ram lambs also falling within this price range.

Lambs weighing 47kg to 49kg sold from €150 to €159, depending on quality, while a pen of top-quality Suffolk ewe lambs weighing 43.5kg sold for €159 and recorded the top price per kilo on the day of €3.66/kg.

These pen of 11 Suffolk wether and ewe lambs weighing 34.6kg sold for €112 each (€3.24/kg).

Lambs weighing 44kg to 46kg sold mainly within a price range of €135 to €145, with fleshed lambs at the higher end of this price range and store lambs from €135 to €140/head.

Quality store lambs weighing 37kg to 40kg sold from €120 to €128 or from €3.05/kg to €3.38/kg.

The trade for light store lambs was influenced strongly by quality and presentation.

Weighing 30.5kg on average this batch of Scottish Blackface ewe lambs sold for €90 per head (€2.95/kg).

A few lots of lambs weighing around the 30kg mark sold from €90 to €100, with lambs weighing 33kg to 35kg ranging in general from €100 to €112.

There was only a handful of lots below the €90/head mark, with plain-quality lambs weighing 27kg to 29kg selling from €80 to €86.

These Mule and Texel-cross wether lambs weighing 45.5kg sold for €145 per head (€3.19/kg).

Cull ewes

The trade for cull ewes was steady, with heavy fleshed ewes continuing to meet firm demand.

The 11 Texel-cross wether lambs weighing 47.7kg sold for €152 each (€3.19/kg) with two ewe lambs on right weighing 36.3kg selling for €115 each (3.17/kg).

Larger-framed and fleshed ewes sold in general from €130 to €150, with one pen of excellent-quality ewes selling to a top of €174/head.

Medium-weight ewes and heavier ewes with a lower cover of flesh sold from €100 to €120, with a handful of Scottish Blackface ewes and ewes lacking flesh selling from €45 to €80/head.

Other lots

The 10 light Suffolk lambs on the left weighing 28.7kg sold for €100 (€3.48/kg) while the three Texel ram lambs weighing 47.6kg sold for €150 each (€3.15/kg).

The 10 top-quality Suffolk-cross ewe lambs weighing 48.7kg on the left sold for €170 each (€3.49/kg). The five weighing 43.5kg on the right sold for €159 (€3.66/kg).

This batch of Suffolk-cross ewe lambs weighing 50kg sold for €160 each (€3.20/kg).

These excellent-quality Charollais wether and ewe lambs weighing 53.5kg sold for €170 each (€3.18/kg).

These medium-sized and well-fleshed Mule cull ewes sold for €135 each.

This batch of 11 good-quality Charollais ewes sold for €145 each.

This batch of large-framed, fleshed ewes secured the top price for ewes of €174 per head.

These Suffolk ewe lambs with an average-to-good cover of flesh and weighing 47.5kg sold for €154 (€3.24/kg).