The majority of factories have this week cut base quotes for lambs by 10c/kg, leaving opening quotes for quality assured lambs in the region of €7.70/kg.

The cut has been experienced by producer groups and sellers with lower negotiating power, while regular sellers are having variable success at trading at last week’s level of upwards of €7.90/kg.

This is feeding in to variable reports from the live trade, with some mart managers reporting a steady trade, helped by tight supplies of finished lambs, while other mart managers have reported an easing in the trade to the tune of €1 to €2 per head. Prices in NI factories have also faced downward pressure and are averaging at £6.30/kg (€7.25/kg) for Thursday.

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