The sheep trade is benefiting from the dynamics of supply and demand. Numbers are tight in Ireland and the UK while there is also firm demand in continental EU markets.

Buyers appear keen to keep supplies in good shape with one eye also on the Ramadan festival which starts on 23 April.

This has led to the trade avoiding the usual post-Easter hangover, with prices actually strengthening by 10c/kg to 20c/kg on last week’s level.

Kildare Chilling is setting the pace on spring lambs, with its base quote of €6.30/kg plus 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) representing an increase of 20c/kg on last week’s quote.

The two ICM plants and Kepak have also followed suit, with an increase of 10c/kg to a base of €6.10/kg, while Dawn Meats are not quoting. Ballon meanwhile is quoting an all-in price of €6/kg .

This is leaving QA spring lambs trading in the region of €6.20/kg to €6.40/kg.

Carcase weights continue to vary from 20kg to 21kg, with the higher prices generally confined to 20kg to 20.5kg carcase weight.

Spring lambs are reported as being slower to come on stream, which is not surprising given the challenging weather this spring. This leaves factories still concentrating on a reducing supply pool of hoggets. Quotes have also lifted by 10c/kg and generally average a base of €5.70/kg excluding the QA bonus.

Prices paid for small numbers range from €5.80/kg to €5.90/kg, with finishers with stronger bargaining power pushing prices to €6/kg and slightly higher for large batches. The lift in price is said to be attracting back out small numbers of ewe hoggets but these are also attracting attention from farmers looking to purchase for grass and to meet Areas of Natural Constraint stocking rate requirements.

Weekly kill

Last week’s kill was recorded at 50,156 head, which was an increase of almost 10,000 head on the previous week. This is still 6,698 head behind the peak kill for Easter in 2019. The total kill for the year to-date is running at 743,018 head, which is 75,603 head higher than the corresponding period in 2019.

This is despite the ewe and ram kill of 88,368 running 16,358 head lower. Ewe supplies are particularly tight and factories have also increased quotes by 10c/kg. Quotes range from €2.60/kg to €2.80/kg but as high as €3/kg is being secured for large batches. Ballon Meats is also purchasing ewes by weight where farmers prefer this option.

Northern Ireland

There is a wider differential opening up between prices in the south and Northern Ireland. Factories there are quoting just £4.50/kg to £4.60/kg for hoggets which is the equivalent of €5.15/kg to €5.26kg at 87.4p to the euro and €5.43/kg to €5.55/kg including VAT at 5.4%. Buyers purchasing on behalf of southern plants are said to be very active again this week in sourcing hoggets directly off farms or through producer groups.

Spring lambs are quoted in the region of £4.80/kg to £4.90/kg which is the equivalent of €5.49/kg to €5.60/kg excluding VAT and €5.79/kg to €5.90/kg VAT included. Sellers with greater bargaining power and groups on a bonus payment mechanism are securing prices of 10p/kg to 15p/kg higher.