Lamb prices have held steady again this week, but there are signs that things are moving slightly in favour of producers, even if it is only for a short time.

There appears to be more deals on offer on price and weight limit, as factories look to secure adequate number of properly finished quality assured (QA) lambs.

Carcase finish has been a comment repeatedly made by processors throughout the summer.

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Good grass growth has seen more lambs finished without concentrates to reduce costs.

Factory agents report that they are getting plenty of ram lambs killing out at fat class 2, despite weighing 21kg to 22kg.

Regular handling of lambs to assess fat covers when drafting is important to ensure lambs are properly covered to maximise sale value.

Base quotes remain unchanged at €4.40/kg at the larger export plants for today (Thursday). As with last week, most supply groups and individual sellers are seeing lambs moving at prices of €4.60/kg to €4.65/kg for QA animals when all bonuses are included.

Reports of €4.70/kg, which was paid in limited deals last week, have become more common at plants in the southeast and midlands. The price has been paid to 22kg, which is also becoming the more common pay weight for groups.

Moyvalley is still on a base of €4.50/kg and has indicated that it is actively looking for lighter 20kg carcases for a specialised market.

In the west, it has been reported that €4.65/kg was paid to 23kg at one plant as it is facing plenty of competition in the region from live exporters. Emerald Green is paying €2/kg liveweight for heavy, fleshed ram lambs weighing 45kg to 55kg and electronically tagged. They have been joined by another exporter in the southwest region paying a similar price on the same buying specification.

Demand for ewes continues to grow this week, with processors freely paying €2.70/kg and reports of up to €2.90/kg paid. The upper prices were paid on QA ewes, born and finished off their farm of origin.

Prices in Northern Ireland are also steady with factories quoting £3.50/kg (€4.62/kg including VAT).

On the ground, prices paid are 5p/kg to 10p/kg (6c to 12c/kg) over the base price. The strong northern price and the weaker euro has lead to less lambs crossing south of the border for slaughter with a marked absence of northern hauliers in factory lairages recently.

In Britain, prices have eased back to £3.50/kg to £3.60/kg (€4.62/kg to €4.80/kg), depending on the region and the availability of supply. In France, the trade is static at €4.83/kg (including VAT) but the end of the school holiday period should hopefully stimulate increased demand for lamb.