Prices in factories slipped by 20c/kg earlier in the week but remained stable midweek.

A slip in factory price had little to no effect on live sales across the weekend and the earlier part of this week, with tight supplies bolstering price for the most part, though some factory agents were noticeably absent from rings in certain marts.

Base quotes remain in the region of €8/kg for quality assured (QA) lambs.

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This includes the two Irish Country Meats plants which are quoting a base of €7.80/kg plus 20c/kg quality assurance bonus while Kildare Chilling is quoting a base of €7.90 plus 10c/kg QA. Reports indicate other plants are also operating at a similar opening quote.

Marts

In the live ring, heavy lambs over 50kg are trading from €175 upwards for quality lots, with fleshed lambs in the 45-46kg bracket back €10-15/head on this, trading at €160-€165, though exceptional lots with high killout potential are rising to €170/head.

On the store trade, prices of €4-€4.60/kg are being seen for quality lowland lambs, with demand from buyers reportedly strong.