Base quotes for lambs have steadied at an average of €7.80/kg for quality assured (QA) lambs following a few weeks of downward pressure.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants are quoting a base of €7.60/kg plus 20c/kg QA payment, while Kildare Chilling is on €7.70/kg plus 10c/kg QA and Ballon Meats is quoting €7.80/kg all in.

Producer groups and regular sellers are securing returns of €7.85/kg to €7.90/kg, with producers facing strong resistance in exceeding this price range.

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There are lambs trading at €8/kg, but this is mainly confined to groups with a higher bonus payment mechanism or for conformation bonuses.

Throughput is steady, with last week’s kill recorded at 42,353, about 300 head lower than the previous week.

The overall figure hides the fact that lamb throughput fell by 1,874 head and the ewe and ram kill increased by 1,568 to 7,005 head.

Throughput continues to trend way below 2024 levels, with last week’s kill running 30% or 17,805 head lower than the corresponding week in 2024.

Lamb throughput was 16,342 head lower, while ewe and ram throughput was 1,343 lower. The year-to-date kill is running 323,125 head or 18% lower.

The slight increase in the ewe kill has tempered demand in some plants, with Kildare Chilling reducing its base quote by 10c/kg to €4.80/kg plus 10c/kg QA. ICM remains on €4.50/kg, while Ballon is offering the highest quote for top-quality ewes of €5.20/kg.

Northern Ireland

Base quotes in Northern Ireland for Thursday are £6.40/kg (€7.40/kg), down 10p/kg on the week.

Groups and regular sellers are securing 10p/kg to 15p/kg higher and are meeting firm resistance beyond that point. Last week’s kill was up over 350 head to 8,487.

This is despite agents purchasing on behalf of southern plants being much more active, with the number of sheep exported for direct slaughter increasing by 1,744 head and recorded at 6,325.

The increase was also fuelled by exports to Britain declining significantly in recent weeks, with prices coming back and eroding the opportunity to export lambs and leave a margin.

The Agriculture Horticulture Development Board reports British lamb prices reducing by 22p/kg last week and averaging £6.74/kg (€7.80/kg).

Reports indicate that prices this week are steady to 10p/kg lower depending on the region.

Looking further afield, the latest Bord Bia sheep price dashboard shows Spanish lamb replacing French lamb as the top price paid in the main sheep-producing countries in Europe.

Prices are lagging a week behind those reported above, but for the week of 30 August, Spanish lamb was recorded at an average of €9.16/kg, up 82c/kg year on year, while French lamb at €8.77/kg was 39c/kg lower. Irish prices are running 45c/kg higher, with British prices approaching parity.