Sheep factories are this week working at their highest level possible as they work to satisfy a spike in demand ahead of Muslim festival Eid al-Adha.

Factories increased quotes by 10c/kg over the weekend and, when combined with last Thursday’s lift of 20c/kg, it leaves a high percentage of lambs trading at €6.50/kg.

Deals at the top end of the market are running 10c/kg to 15c/kg higher. Current prices are performing on average €1/kg ahead of the corresponding period in 2020 or about €20 on a typical 20kg carcase.

Factory appetite for lambs is expected to remain strong until at least the start of next week, with the main demand on the first two days of the festival on 19 and 20 July.