Sheep mart comment: top stores selling upwards of €3.70-€4/kg

The store lamb trade continues with great intensity, with a number of factors underpinning greater competition.

The recent increase in grass growth is fuelling greater demand, while strong finished lamb prices are adding more confidence.

On top of this, numbers are tight and, in many marts, buyers are active for light ram lambs for exporting live.

The general run of lowland stores are trading from €3.70/kg to €3.90/kg, with evenly matched and well-presented top-quality types selling upwards of €4/kg.

Lesser-quality types are selling back to €3.20/kg to €3.30/kg, while hill-crosses are topping the €3/kg mark and Scottish Blackface lambs are trading anywhere from €2.50/kg to €3/kg-plus, depending on size and scope to perform quickly.

The trade for finished lambs is solid, with some marts reporting prices firming by €1 to €2/head and others reporting a steady trade.

Well-fleshed lowland lambs weighing 50kg to 54kg are trading in the main from €178 to €186, with heavier and excellent-quality lots hitting up to €190 in places.

Some live exporters are also starting to show interest in fleshed lambs, adding more competition to the trade.

Lighter lots weighing around the 45kg mark are selling anywhere from €165 to upwards of €175/head, with condition and suitability for slaughter dictating prices.

Likewise, lambs weighing 42kg to 43kg are trading anywhere from the mid-€140s for store types to €160 for lambs with a good cover of flesh.

The trade for cull ewes is being helped by lower entries in sales in recent weeks.

Numbers of heavy ewes weighing upwards of 90kg to 100kg are in tight supply, but where available are selling from €2.40/kg to €2.60/kg for the best-quality lots.

Medium-weight ewes weighing around the 80kg mark are trading from €2/kg upwards for fleshed crossbred types to as high as €2.35/kg to €2.45/kg for ewes capable of delivering high-quality carcases.

Demand for light ewes has also improved, with prices ranging anywhere from €1.30/kg to €1.70/kg, with heavier ewes meeting a sharper trade.