There is much more life in the sheep trade over the last week, with agents much keener to purchase hoggets direct off farm or in mart sales.

Base factory quotes increased by 10c/kg at the start of the week and have held at a range of €6.05/kg to €6.20/kg for Thursday, excluding quality assurance (QA) bonuses, which range from 10c/kg to 20c/kg.

The two Irish Country Meats plants in Camolin and Navan are quoting base prices of €6.05/kg plus 20c/kg QA, while Kildare Chilling is quoting a base of €6.20/kg plus its 10c/kg QA bonus.

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Ballon Meats has increased its all in quote for Thursday by 20c/kg to €6.40/kg.

Other plants not quoting are reported as offering a base price of €6.15/kg. This leaves quality assured hoggets trading at entry level to the market from €6.25/kg to €6.30/kg.

Those selling through groups or with greater negotiating power are receiving prices of €6.35/kg to €6.45/kg, with top prices 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher by means of conformation bonuses hitting €6.50/kg to €6.60/kg.

Reports indicate that wholesale buyers are paying similar for well-fleshed hoggets, with mart prices increasing significantly over the last week and in cases moving ahead of what producers with lower negotiating power can secure from factories.

This is providing a solid alternative for sellers with small numbers on hand.

The increase in factory appetite is being helped by tighter numbers and an anticipated lift in demand ahead of the Ramadan festival, which starts on 22 March.

Last week’s sheep kill was recorded at 48,232 head, almost 3,000 lower than the previous week and 4,299 lower than the corresponding week in 2022.

The ewe kill of 4,670 head also tightened, inserting more demand into the trade for ewes.

However, there is a big variation in what plants are quoting for ewes, with the two ICM plants quoting €3.10/kg to 45kg carcase weight, while Kildare Chilling is quoting €3.30/kg plus its 10c/kg quality assurance bonus to 40kg carcase weight.

Meanwhile, Ballon Meats is quoting an all-in price of €3.40/kg.

Significant variation also exists between plants not quoting and sellers should weigh up the best outlet in terms of price and carcase weight limits, with the mart trade also providing an attractive outlet, particularly for heavy and top-quality ewes.

Quotes in Northern Ireland have increased by 20p/kg on the week to a base of £5.40/kg or the equivalent of €6.06/kg at Wednesday afternoon’s weaker exchange rate of 89.2p to the euro.

Regular sellers are securing 10p/kg to 20p/kg higher, with numbers also reported as significantly tighter.

This is reflected in last week’s kill figure falling by about 1,000 head to 8,612, while the number of sheep exported from Northern Ireland for direct slaughter in Irish plants fell by 443 head on the previous week to 6,149.