The recent downward pressure facing lamb prices continues, with quotes cut by 10c/kg to 20c/kg over the weekend.

This leaves opening prices for quality assured lambs ranging from €8.80/kg to €8.90/kg, with top prices paid to groups rising to €9/kg by means of producer group bonuses.

There are small numbers exceeding this range for deals done earlier in the week, with agents moving to limit higher price to €9/kg.

Reports indicate demand remained relatively firm over the weekend, with plants still supplying product for the Islamic religious festival of Eid al-Adha, which concludes on 10 June.

Throughput data relating to last week’s kill is not available until Tuesday.

Factories have become more discerning with regards hogget quotes. The majority of plants are quoting a base price of €7/kg, but are warning that mature hoggets which have set permanent teeth and hoggets deemed to be excessively overweight will be paid at cull ewe prices.

Top prices are upwards of €7.30/kg for hoggets killing at desired carcase weights or fat score.

Such prices for cull ewes have also in cases come under pressure, with a couple of plants dropping quotes below the €5/kg mark and quoting from €4.75/kg to €5/kg.

Plants and abattoirs specialising in the ewe trade continue to pay well above the €5/kg mark, with top prices rising to €5.50/kg.

Mart trade

Entries in mart sales were reported as smaller on Monday, with hoggets, cull ewes and ewes with lambs at foot all in tighter supply.

Ennis Mart reported on an entry of 500 head in Monday’s sale. The average price reported for lambs was €3.71/kg.

Good-quality well-fleshed lambs exceeded this range, selling to €3.85/kg to €3.95/kg for lambs weighing 40kg to 47kg, while heavier lots weighing in excess of 52kg sold from €3.55/kg to €3.66/kg or just shy of €200/head.

The entry of cull ewes was described as more variable, with some ewes appearing straight from rearing lambs. Ewes average €1.96/kg, with a top price of €242 for a ewe weighing 100kg.

Kilkenny Mart

There was a similarly small sale of sheep in Kilkenny Mart, with 450 head on offer.

Lamb prices were reported on a par with last week, with the general run of heavier butcher-type lambs selling from €3.65/kg to €3.87/kg and hitting a top of €4.31/kg for a batch of 10 super-quality lambs weighing 51kg.

Lighter types weighing 44kg to 46kg sold from €3.82/kg to €3.96/kg, with a similar price range for lots weighing 43kg to 44kg.

The mart reports prices running anywhere from €15/head to €25/head behind the corresponding sale in 2024.