The sheep trade has started the week in a relatively firm position, taking into account there were fears of prices easing on the back of reduced demand following the ending of the Ramadan festival.
Tight numbers are said to be helping to keep a floor under the trade, with Kildare Chilling holding its quote for Monday and Tuesday at a base of €7.90/kg for lambs and €7.20/kg for hoggets. This excludes the plant's 10c/kg quality assurance bonus.
The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants in Camolin and Navan have reduced their base quotes by 10c/kg to €7.80/kg for lambs and €7.10/kg for hoggets. This excludes the plant's higher quality assurance bonus of 20c/kg.
Reports indicate that other plants not quoting officially have reduced quotes by 10c/kg to 20c/kg.
Higher cuts
Reports also suggest there are few sellers willing to accept the higher cuts and that this has resulted in plants reverting upwards in negotiations.
With numbers tight in the market, there is also no real waiting time from booking to drafting sheep, with the exception of some plants opting for a day’s less processing due to the lower levels of throughput.
Prices at the top end of the market for hoggets are reported in the region of €7.30/kg to €7.40/kg, with some higher prices continue to be paid for very large consignments.
Similarly, spring lamb prices range in the main from €8.00/kg to €8.10/kg, with some deals slightly higher.
The mart trade is unchanged, with fleshed heavy hoggets weighing from 53kg to 60kg selling from €165 to €177 and rising to €180 in isolated cases.
Lighter hoggets weighing around the 50kg mark are trading from €150 to €160, with flesh cover and quality having a big say on prices paid.
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