Last week’s sheep kill of 78,164 head is a reflection of the increased demand generated from the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. Throughput increased by a massive 23,066 head on the previous week, with some factories slaughtering six days and also working additional shifts.

The kill is marginally ahead of the corresponding week in 2021, with throughput running 233 head higher. Factories concentrated mainly on lambs, with the kill profile comprising 68,902 lambs, 7,678 ewes and rams, and 1,581 hoggets.

It is not surprising given the level of throughput that factory agents were more cautious in their purchasing behaviour at the start of this week and waiting to see how markets responded.

Base quotes reduced by 10c/kg over the weekend, leaving quotes for Monday and Tuesday in the region of €7.20/kg plus the respective quality assurance (QA) bonuses.

Prices received from producers trading on their own merit with greater negotiating power or via groups started the week at €7.50/kg before easing back 10c/kg more on Tuesday. Prices negotiated by individual sellers were typically in the region of €7.30/kg to €7.40/kg for QA stock.

Factories have moved to reduce prices significantly for Thursday, with base quotes 20c/kg lower and falling back to €7.00/kg mark. This leaves producer groups trading in the main from €7.25/kg to €7.35/kg while higher deals have been negotiated with factories still keen to get their hands on numbers. This is evident in the purchasing behaviour of agents in mart sales.

Reports suggest numbers on stream will be tighter in the coming weeks due to a combination of lambs being killed at lower weights last week, weaning taking place and a lower killout encouraging farmers to hold lambs for longer to ensure they are adequately covered.

Factories are also looking to pull ewe prices, with quotes 20c/kg to 30c/kg lower and ranging in the main from €3.70/kg to €3.80/kg. Their efforts are said to be helped by ewes being held over from last week and providing a base to work from.

Factories are standing on last week’s prices of €4.10/kg to €4.15/kg while agents remain keen for ewes in mart sales, underpinning a largely steady trade.

Northern plants are also trying to reduce prices but with lower numbers of sheep in the market and many mart sales not taking place this week agents are having to pay to entice lambs forward. Base quotes have dropped 5p/kg below the £6/kg mark (equivalent to €7.09/kg at 84p to the euro) but agents are still having to pay £6/kg and higher. Reports suggest that in excess of 12,000 sheep were imported south last week for slaughtering in southern plants.