A significant differential remains between prices paid in marts experiencing strong purchasing activity from wholesale and butcher buyers and those largely reliant on buying from factory agents.
The interest from wholesale and butcher buyers is for good-quality lambs marketed with a good cover of flesh.
Activity has extended beyond the southeast catchment area in recent times, as numbers have tightened and demand has grown into the midlands and west.
Lambs weighing from 49kg to 52kg are trading on average from €188 to €197/head, with the best-quality types and heavier lots rising to upwards of €200/head and reaching as high as €210/head.
In contrast, top prices in sales where factory agents are the main players are in the region of €185 to €192/head, with prices more closely aligned with deadweight factory returns.
Lambs falling outside this bracket in terms of quality are selling back to €180 to €185 for plainer-quality type and some hill lambs.
Prices for store lambs have edged upwards on average over the last week.
The general run of prices for heavier lambs weighing from 35kg to 40kg is in the region of €3.65/kg to €3.85/kg, with excellent-quality lots hitting as high as €4/kg and plainer-quality types back to €3.50/kg on occasion.
Lighter lambs weighing around the 30kg mark are selling closer to €4/kg for good lowland types, with prices ranging anywhere from €3.70/kg to €4.20/kg, depending on quality.
The trade for cull ewes is also variable, depending on the profile of buyers. Marts where buyers in the high-quality carcase market are active are seeing top prices rise to €2.40/kg to €2.60/kg for top-quality types, while, in other marts, a price range of €2.20/kg to €2.40/kg is buying the lion’s share of fleshed lots.
Plainer-quality types are selling back to €2/kg, with few lowland ewes with any reasonable cover of flesh below this mark. Heavier carcase hill ewes range from €1.70/kg to €2/kg-plus, with light-carcase ewes and those very short of flesh selling back to €1/kg to €1.30/kg.
