Factories are attempting to ease sheep prices back, with quotes for lambs purchased for Monday and Tuesday’s kill easing by 10c/kg.

This leaves base quotes ranging from €5.90/kg to €6.00/kg, excluding quality assurance (QA) or producer group bonuses.

Prices paid to sellers handling small numbers range from €6.00/kg to €6.15/kg, while producers with greater negotiating power and agents with significant numbers on hand are securing returns of €6.20/kg to €6.25/kg, with select deals exceeding this range.

Weaker demand

Factories point to weaker demand following the ending of the Ramadan festival, but, at the same time, they remain keen to keep throughput levels up.

Agents were busy over the weekend ringing suppliers to ensure sufficient numbers were available for Monday’s kill. This underpinned a solid trade in marts holding sales over the weekend.

Kilkenny Mart recorded a larger sale of 600 sheep on Monday. Auctioneer George Candler reported that prices reduced €5 to €10 per head on last week’s trade, which was particularly strong.

Lambs

Lambs peaked at €133 for a pen of 100 top-quality 46kg lambs, while quality lambs weighing 47kg to 51kg sold from €130 to €132.

Lighter lots weighing 41kg to 43kg sold from €113 to €120, with lots weighing 39kg to 40kg reported as ranging from €109 to €111 per head.

Cull ewes didn’t reach the heights of previous weeks, with heavy fleshed ewes selling from €100 to €130, while feeding types and lots low on flesh cover sold back to €70 per head.