Factories have started quoting prices for spring lambs this week. Base quotes range from €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg excluding the 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus.

Numbers coming on stream have been low to date and some producers with a small number of aged and heavier-carcase lambs born in late 2020 have opted to trade at hogget prices or slightly higher to take advantage of the additional weight allowance.

The offering of spring lambs will start to build from now on and this is when the real negotiations will start.

There have been isolated reports this week of regular producers supplying lambs with superior conformation and to a tight specification being offered €7.50/kg to €7.60/kg or higher in cases.

IFA sheep chair Sean Dennehy said: “Spring lamb production is a high-cost system that requires precise management and commitment. These producers must be rewarded for their time and effort and receive a significant premium to continue with confidence in this production system. Unfortunately opening factory quotes being reported this week do not reflect this effort.”

The majority of hoggets are now trading upwards of €7/kg, with some producers opting to show sheep live where they cannot command this price.

Regular sellers and those with significant numbers on hand are negotiating a price of €7.20/kg, with factories also willing to do deals at this level and also cover transport costs for large numbers.

At the top of the market, some producers are doing deals to 23.5kg carcase weight, or even 24kg in isolated cases, at a price of €7.20/kg. Where extra weight is not an option, top prices reported are rising to €7.25/kg to €7.30/kg.

Last week’s kill of 47,217 head was 3,757 higher than the previous week. The number of hoggets handled actually increased by in excess of 5,000 head, with ewe numbers tightening significantly and recorded at 4,560 head.

The number of sheep imported for direct slaughter from Northern Ireland at 4,579 sheep reduced by 1,048 head on the previous week.

This is partly due to northern agents upping their purchasing activity and increasing prices on offer.

Quotes for Thursday are £6.10/kg or the equivalent of €7.13/kg at Wednesday afternoon’s exchange rate of 85.5p to the euro.

Regular sellers are securing returns of £6.20/kg to £6.25/kg (€7.25/kg to €7.30/kg) to ward off interest from southern buyers.

Meanwhile, British prices have also recorded strong movement this week, with the standard quality quotation rising by 14p/kg to almost £3/kg liveweight (€3.51/kg), while deadweight prices range anywhere from £6.20/kg to £6.35/kg.