After a number of weeks of continuous upward movement, the sheep trade has steadied. Factories remain fit for any sheep coming on to the market, but an increase in numbers is allowing them to maintain throughput without having to increase prices.

Base quotes range from €5.70/kg to €5.80/kg, with a high percentage of hoggets continuing to trade at a range of €5.85/kg to €6.00/kg. Reports indicate sellers handling high numbers are finding it difficult to exceed a price of €6.00/kg, which many factories are working to set as the upward limit.

Select deals continue to exceed this level when producer group bonuses or allowances on transport are factored in.

IFA national sheep chair Sean Dennehy said: “The lamb market remains buoyant, with factories paying €6.00/kg to get lambs, while some top deals at €6.05/kg to €6.10/kg have been paid. Farmers need to be careful when selecting hoggets to avoid cuts for underweight lambs and avoid giving factories free meat with overweight carcases.”

The lift in numbers is reflected in last week’s kill, where throughput increased 2,150 head to reach 47,311. The ewe and ram kill dropped even further, with just 4,766 head handled, 1,736 head lower than the corresponding week in 2019.

With hogget throughput recorded 10,261 head higher, the overall kill was 8,525 head more than the corresponding week in 2019. Total throughput for the year to date is 42,615 higher for the first nine weeks of the year.

An analysis of factors underpinning the increase in prices paid since the turn of the year is discussed on page 38.

The tightness in ewe numbers is helping to maintain a strong floor under the trade. Quotes range from €3.00/kg to €3.10/kg, with top prices paid to farmers and dealers handling significant numbers rising to €3.20/kg to €3.30/kg.

The trade in the North has also steadied, with quotes ranging from £4.80/kg to £4.90/kg. This is the equivalent of €5.53/kg to €5.65/kg at Wednesday afternoon’s weaker sterling to euro exchange rate of 86.8p and €5.83/kg to €5.95/kg when VAT at 5.4% is included. Top prices are rising to £4.95/kg to £5.00/kg (€6.07/kg incl VAT).

The number of sheep imported south from Northern Ireland for direct slaughter was reduced last week by 989 head to 5,935. Reports show agents purchasing on behalf of southern plants being more cautious in mart sales in recent days, which is likely to be influencing numbers crossing the border.

The British trade has also steadied, with the AHDB reporting average prices easing last week by 1.7p/kg. This leaves R3 grading lambs trading on average in the region of £5.30/kg (€6.10/kg and €6.44/kg incl VAT), while prices for top-quality hoggets are rising to £5.35/kg to £5.40/kg.

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SheepWatch: prices steady at a high level