Sellers are finally back in the driving seat as factory agents scour the country hunting out finished hoggets. Most hoggets are being sold at €4.95/kg to €5.10/kg including bonus payments.

Producer groups and frequent sellers are securing a further 5c/kg and agents are sweetening deals by providing allowances for transport.

Top prices are also being paid to agents to entice Northern Ireland lambs south, again offering allowances on transport, which is bringing prices paid in cases to the equivalent of €5.15/kg to €5.20/kg.

Weight of hoggets is becoming less of an issue, but individual sellers are finding it difficult to secure a weight limit over 23kg.

Larger producers are securing a higher limit of 23.5kg and this seems to be driving the trade for hoggets over 50kg in the marts (see Sheepwatch below).

Farmers with fit hoggets now should resist the temptation to hold out in the hope of further price increases because this is often a false economy.

There is definitely no love lost between the factories as they come closer to the €5.00/kg base quote for hoggets. Kildare Chilling and Kepak are leading the charge at a base quote of €4.95/kg for hoggets. For Kildare, this is a massive increase of 15c/kg on last week.

The other main exporting plants, Dawn Meats and the two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants, are on a lower base of €4.85/kg excluding bonuses. Both Ballon Meats and Moyvalley Meats are offering an all-in quote of €4.90/kg.

IFA national sheep committee chair John Lynskey said the price and weight increase is positive, but pointed out that it still has a long way to go, as this time last year feeders were getting €5.70/kg for quality hoggets.

Demand for NI sheep

A tug of war has developed for northern lambs, with southern agents given more licence to ensure numbers moving south remain the same (7,974 last week).

Agents purchasing from northern plants have also been given greater bidding power, leading to a jump in competition in marts (see northern mart comment on right). Northern plants are quoting £4.00/kg (€4.93/kg including VAT), but prices of £4.05/kg to £4.15/kg (€4.99/kg to €5.12/kg) are being paid.

Cull ewes

Hoggets are not the only sheep to see an improvement in price. The cull ewe trade is also on the rise and agents are offering higher prices to entice numbers out.

Quotes have increased in all plants by 10c/kg to a base of €2.70/kg, with the exception of ICM which is holding its position at €2.60/kg.

Prices are rising to €2.80/kg to €2.95/kg at the top of the market .