There have been some signs of an improved trade for hoggets this week, but the brighter prospects have not turned into anything concrete.

Factory agents have been more active in sales and have displayed a keener appetite in direct negotiations with regular sellers, but this has been inconsistent across the week.

Some regular sellers secured a 10c/kg higher payment of €7.90/kg earlier in the week, only to then be told that more sheep were available and the price had returned to €7.80/kg.

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Other sellers handling significant numbers have been encouraged to hold lambs until the end of this week or start of next week in anticipation of an improvement in demand for the Islamic religious festival of Ramadan (17 February).

Prices being talked about with regular sellers are in the region of €7.90/kg to €7.95/kg, with factories reluctant to commit to €8/kg.

Sellers trading through groups or with lower negotiating power have seen no change in the dead trade.

Base quotes remain unchanged in the two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants at €7.50/kg plus their 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment, with Dawn Kildare quoting a base of €7.50/kg plus 10c/kg QA. Ballon Meats continues to offer the highest price of €7.80/kg.

Groups are typically trading in the region of €7.75/kg to €7.80/kg, with some deals rising to €7.90/kg but on an infrequent basis.

The ewe trade is unchanged, with quotes in the main plants ranging from €4.30/kg to €4.50/kg. At the top end of the market, Ballon Meats remains well out in front with its quote of €5/kg for top-quality ewes.

Northern Ireland

The trade in Northern Ireland has, in contrast, firmed for the last two weeks.

Base quotes for Thursday are up 10p/kg to 20p/kg and range from £6.40/kg to £6.50/kg (€7.39/kg to €7.50/kg).

Linden Foods is quoting 10p/kg higher and is also paying an extra half a kilo carcase weight of 22.5kg.

There is keen competition in the market, with buyers purchasing sheep for export to Britain boosted by prices rising to £7.10/kg to £7.20/kg (€8.20/kg to €8.31/kg), with demand increased ahead of Ramadan. The movement in the trade has opened up a wider differential between Irish and British prices.

There is also a wide differential between Irish prices and those in other European markets. French farmers are receiving in the region of €10/kg for lamb, with Spanish lamb upwards of €11/kg for light lamb carcases.

Processors are blaming a high percentage of heavier hogget carcases as denting returns and limiting the volume of sales through the carcase market.

Some plants comment that upwards of 50% of carcases are outside desired specification, while farm organisations cite that there is more room to return a better price from the market and encourage quicker movement of sheep.