The majority of plants are quoting a base price in the region of €9.50/kg for Thursday.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) in Camolin and Navan reduced their lamb quotes by 20c/kg at the end of last week and are similar to Dawn Kildare’s base quote of €9.50/kg plus 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment, while Ballon Meats are quoting an all-in lamb price of €9.60/kg.

Factories are typically only quoting for the next available day’s slaughtering, with most returning to slaughtering on three or four days.

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Groups and regular sellers are securing €9.70/kg to €9.80/kg, with agents trying to keep a lid on price at this level.

Numbers ease

Reports indicate that numbers coming on stream have eased following a big push to get lambs on to the market ahead of last week’s Islamic religious festival of Eid al-Adha and this has inserted more stability into the trade.

The relatively low supply is also helping to keep a floor under demand for hoggets, with base quotes unchanged at €9/kg plus a 20c/kg QA payment.

Reports indicate that specialist finishers and regular sellers are still securing €9.30/kg to €9.40/kg, but producers handling smaller numbers are facing challenges negotiating above €9.20/kg.

Many plants are checking if hoggets have set permanent teeth, while there are also significant cuts for heavy hoggets killing from 25kg to 30kg carcase weight.

Kill figures

Last week’s kill was recorded at 44,877 head. This overall figure is similar to the previous week, but the spring lamb kill of 21,599 head surpassed hoggets at 17,300 head.

The ewe and ram kill was steady at 5,978 head, with ewe prices steadying around the €5/kg to €5.10/kg mark in most plants and remaining at €5.50/kg in Ballon Meats.

The mart trade remains a good alternative outlet for sellers struggling to negotiate on price or possessing heavy ewes likely to kill out above the typical paid carcase weight limits of 43kg to 45kg.

There are some deals being negotiated to heavier weights where a small number of a bigger consignment are marginally over paid carcase weight limits.

It is also important to note that plants are cutting for ewes very short of flesh cover and killing at fat class one. It is worth confirming any possible cuts before sending ewes.

Northern Ireland

Base lamb quotes in Northern Ireland increased by 10p/kg in ABP Lurgan following last week’s cut of 60p/kg, while Dawn Meats is not quoting.

There is no updated import and export data, nor any kill data, for last week, but reports indicate numbers exported to Ireland and Britain have eased over the last week.

British prices appear to have steadied after recent pressure, with lambs ranging from £9/kg to £9.20/kg (€10.30/kg).