Sheep producers are facing a trickier start to the week with negotiations starting from a 10c/kg to 20c/kg lower base.

Kildare Chilling reduced its base quote back to €7.90/kg plus its 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus. This is in contrast to the week previous where the plant added an extra 10c/kg to the base quote.

It has been a similar story across the other plants, with base quotes reducing by 10c/kg to 20c/kg and reports indicating quotes ranging from €7.80/kg to €7.90/kg.

This still leaves the majority of producers securing upwards of €8/kg for quality assured lambs.

Regular sellers and groups are securing returns of €8.10/kg to €8.20/kg in the main with sellers handling large numbers selling above this price range.

Holding steady

This is evident in reports from mart sales held over the weekend and on Monday with agents keen to get their hands on lambs and prices holding steady to €1 to €2 easier on average.

While there is some price pressure on lambs the trade for ewes is solid. Ewes are selling in all plants from €4/kg upwards with producers handling significant numbers securing an additional 10c/kg to 20c/kg while at the top end of the market prices of €4.20/kg to €4.40/kg have been reported for large consignments of ewes.