There are signs of more life in the sheep trade, but factory agents are resolute in keeping base quotes unchanged.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants and Dawn Meats are unchanged with their base prices of €7.70/kg plus their 20c/kg quality assurance payment.

This leaves the majority of groups trading in the region of €8/kg and, in select cases, a top price of €8.10/kg, while Ballon Meats remains on €8/kg all-in.

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The comment on more life in the trade is stemming from some sellers trading on a regular basis or handling larger numbers having had sporadic success in negotiating 10c/kg higher or a price of €8.10/kg.

Agents are also keener in mart sales, with some prices firmer to the tune of €1 to €2/head, while factory agents are willing to take lambs much quicker.

Last week’s sheep kill reduced slightly by over 1,400 head and was recorded at 46,640.

The lamb kill reduced by 1,019 head to 37,291, while the ewe and ram kill reduced by 396 head to 9,141.

The kill continues to run 4,287 head above the corresponding week in 2026, but there are some industry sources predicting that the kill will tighten in the coming weeks.

Factories continue to report significant variance in slaughter performance, commenting that some farmers who haven’t drafted sheep for some time are highly disappointed.

The advice for farmers where there is any doubt on slaughter performance is to draft heavier sheep first that will not kill under-weight to assess how kill-outs are performing.

The trade for ewes is unchanged in most factories. ICM continues to quote €4.50/kg, with Dawn Kildare quoting similar for better-quality ewes with a carcase weight of 35kg to 45kg.

Ballon Meats continues to lead the prices on offer with its quote of €5/kg. A couple of plants not quoting are trying to purchase ewes below a price of €4.50/kg.

Northern Ireland

The trade in Northern Ireland has increased significantly, with base quotes up 10p/kg to 20p/kg, leaving base quotes for Thursday at £6.80/kg.

Regular sellers are pushing top returns close to the £7/kg mark. Prices are edging ahead of equivalent prices in Ireland without the VAT top-up.

ABP Linden has also increased its carcase weight payment limit by 0.5kg to 21.5kg.

Reports indicate that factories have increased price and weight to try to ward off keen interest from agents purchasing sheep for exporting to Britain and Ireland.

This is reflected in last week’s sheep kill increasing by 524 head to 9,643.

The number of sheep exported to Ireland for direct slaughter reduced by about 700 head to 2,806.

Reports indicate that prices in Britain have firmed with the latest AHDB report showing average price in the region of £7.07/kg with prices rising over £7.10/kg (€8.31/kg) this week.