The sheep trade is entering the Christmas break on a solid footing.

Factory quotes are unchanged on last week’s level, with Kildare Chilling continuing to command top position with a base of €5.00/kg plus 10c/kg quality assurance bonus.

Kepak and Dawn are both quoting a base of €4.85/kg, with Kepak’s 5c/kg higher quality assurance bonus of 15c/kg all that separates the two plants. The two ICM plants are unchanged on a base of €4.80/kg while Moyvalley Meats and Ballon Meats are quoting an all-in price of €5.00/kg, up 10c/kg on last week.

A high percentage of lambs are trading from €5.05/kg to €5.15/kg, with regular sellers, specialist finishers and producer groups securing a top price of €5.20/kg or slightly higher in cases when allowances on transport or conformation bonuses are factored into the equation.

Last week’s kill of 66,286 was an increase of 1,292 on the previous week. This was driven solely by lamb throughput increasing 1,499 head to 57,293, while tight supplies of ewes in the market are reflected in the ewe kill marginally easing by 190 head to 8,939.

Ewe prices are steady, with quotes ranging from €2.70/kg to €2.80/kg, the only change being Dawn Ballyhaunis not quoting for ewes. Sellers with significant numbers on hand are pushing prices to €2.85/kg to €2.95/kg, with a price of €3.00/kg reported in rare cases. Carcase weight limits vary between plants so it is worth checking this out if ewes are likely to exceed 40kg carcase weight.

This week’s throughput is running at a lower level than last week but that is normal for the time of year. It will drop even lower next week, with slaughtering only taking place on Monday and Friday. Many plants report they have sourced a significant percentage of lambs for early next week, with some now looking forward to also organising throughput for the start of the following week.

Northern Ireland

The number of sheep imported from Northern Ireland for direct slaughter last week reduced 83 head to 9,654 head. Demand is also firm, with agents purchasing for southern plants continuing to compete in mart and direct farm sales with Northern buyers. Factories are quoting £4.00/kg, which at a slightly weaker exchange rate of 85p to the euro equates to €4.70/kg and €4.96/kg including VAT at 5.4%. Regular sellers are securing top prices of £4.05/kg to £4.10/kg (€5.02/kg to €5.08/kg).

The latest AHDB price report shows British prices continuing to creep upwards. Last week’s average lamb price increased 4.3p/kg, with R3 lambs averaging £4.30/kg to £4.35/kg (€5.33/kg to 5.39/kg).