Mart managers report relatively firm demand for lowland store lambs, but comment that prices have on average eased.
Prices recorded this week for nice-quality lowland store lambs range on average from €2.50/kg to €2.80/kg, with select lots of ewe lambs exhibiting breeding potential rising to €3/kg and higher on occasion.
Plainer-quality and crossbred lambs are trading back to €2.30/kg to €2.40/kg, while the trade for light hill store lambs remains very challenging.
Prices vary significantly across regions, but good-quality forward Scottish Blackface male lambs are generally reported as ranging from €1.75/kg to €2.10/kg.
Lesser-quality small-framed lambs that are a long-term prospect are selling back to €1.50/kg and lower in cases.
In contrast, demand for slaughter-fit lambs is lively, with tight supplies keeping a strong floor under the trade.
Differential
Prices paid are highly dependent on quality and flesh cover with a differential of up to €7 to €10 seen for lambs of a similar weight, but varying majorly in terms of quality.
Well-fleshed lambs weighing upwards of 50kg are selling from €140 to €145 in many sales, with select lots of excellent-quality lambs rising to €150 and higher in isolated cases for very heavy lambs.
Lambs lacking flesh are selling back to the mid- to low-€130s.
It is a similar case for lighter lambs, with those weighing 47kg to 49kg ranging on average from €130 to €140, but also capable of falling either side of this range depending on quality.
Numbers are in such tight supply that factory agents are active for fleshed lambs right down to 43kg to 44kg. Here, the differential is very apparent and ranging from upwards of €120 to €125 back to €110 and lower for poor-quality lambs lacking significant flesh cover.
Hogget numbers are low. A price range of €170 to €190 is buying the majority of nice-quality hoggets, but upwards of €200 has been paid for top-quality types.
Average-quality types range from €150 to €165, with light and small-framed crossbred hoggets from €125 to €140.
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