In pictures: trade on fire as hoggets hit €178 in Athenry

Demand for slaughter-fit sheep is showing no signs of easing, with factories even more anxious to get their hands on higher numbers.

This was evident in a sharp trade in Athenry Mart, Co Galway, on Monday, with factory agents, butcher and wholesale buyers digging in and competing hard for fleshed hoggets.

The hammer fell on the top-priced pen of top-quality hoggets weighing 51kg at €178.

In total, 13 lots reached or exceeded the €170 mark, with the average price of these recorded at almost €174 for hoggets weighing in the main from 55kg to 60kg.

As has become the norm in recent weeks, the entry was underpinned by ewe hoggets, with the level of finish varying and leading to a differential in price of €4 to €8 per head for similar weight hoggets.

Another 14 pens of hoggets sold for upwards of €160, while a handful of quality lots weighing 45kg to 50kg sold for €157 on average.

Several pens of hoggets weighing 43kg to 47kg sold in a solid trade, with prices ranging from €140 to €149 per head, while a few lots of stores weighing 41kg to 44kg averaged around the €135 per head mark.

The increase in the hogget trade is also inserting much more life into the cull ewe trade. Here, a top price of €164 was paid for a pen of fleshed ewes weighing 104kg.

Eight other lots of tight-woolled and well-conformed ewes weighing 85kg to 95kg on average sold from €147 to €155, while 15 pens of slightly lesser-quality ewes weighing 77kg to 90kg sold in a brisk trade from €130 to €142.

Another cohort of ewes weighing 70kg to 78kg sold from €118 to €128, with only a handful of lots below this range weighing 60kg to 68kg and selling from €90 to €109.