Sheep price update: firm appetite for fleshed lambs

The sheep trade continues in a positive manner, with agents keen to maximise throughput.

Base quotes remain unchanged in the main with opening quotes for quality assured (QA) lambs ranging anywhere from €7.60/kg to €7.80/kg.

A high percentage of lambs are trading from €7.70/kg to €7.85/kg, with lambs traded from regular sellers and availing through producer groups of conformation bonuses selling to €7.90/kg.

Agents remain reluctant to pass this point and are resisting pressure to sanction deals of €8/kg.

There is a preference in some negotiations to allow higher carcase weight allowances or to cover all or part of transport costs where large numbers are being transported by a haulier.

Mart trade

Reports from marts on Monday are steady. Kilkenny Mart auctioneer George Candler reported top-quality lambs weighing 50kg to 52kg exceeding the €180 mark and selling in the main to €184, with a handful of heavier lots rising to €190/head.

Lambs weighing 47kg to 48kg were reported as selling from the high €160s to €180 for super-quality lambs.

A highlight of the trade in Ennis Mart was six 55kg lambs topping the €200 mark and selling for €201/head.

Other batches of quality heavy lambs weighing 54kg to 55kg sold from €187 to €189.

Price paid for lighter lots was strongly influenced by quality, with lambs weighing around the 50kg to 51kg mark selling from €172 all the way to €187/head, with prices ranging from €3.45/kg to €3.65/kg.

The trade for ewes is unchanged in the main, but demand for ewes from live exporters has boosted sales in certain marts.

Where this has occurred, select lots of top-quality ewes have sold as high as upwards of €2.20/kg to €2.30/kg.

The general run of prices ranges from €1.90/kg to €2.10/kg, with feeding ewes from €1.60/kg to €1.80/kg and Scottish Blackface ewes back to €1/kg to €1.40/kg, depending on weight and condition.