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The sheep trade in the past week has held fairly steady, with little change to prices paid by factory agents for fleshed lambs.
Heavy butchers’ lambs over 50kg are selling mainly from €97 to €100 at most sales, with prices topping out at €105/head. This equates to a slight increase on last week, but, in the main, most sales are steady.
Lambs from 45kg to 50kg are selling mainly from €95 to €100, with the vast majority of slaughter-fit lambs selling for around €97/head. There are some lambs making less than €95/head, but these are mainly plainer-quality lambs lacking flesh. All in all, prices are steady on last week.
Those lambs from 42kg to 44kg are a steady trade also. Prices range mainly from €87 to €94/head. However, there are some plainer under-fleshed types making under €86/head in some areas.
The store lamb trade is strong and steady, with farmer buyers still active right across the country. With cattle prices under pressure, there seems to be a switch over of farmers opting to buy more store lambs instead of cattle. This is adding to competition at mart rings and to prices.
The average 40kg store is selling mainly from €78 to €84/head or around €2/kg at most sales. But there are reports of higher prices than €86 at the upper end of the trade.
Lighter store lambs from 35kg to 37kg are selling mainly from €74 to €78/head, depending on quality, which is back slightly on last week.
Lighter types from 30kg to 35kg are selling mainly from €70/head to €73/head, back by a euro or two in some marts. Mountain store lambs and horned types are selling mainly from €50 to €65 and up to €75/head at some sales.
Cull ewes are a firm trade also, with the majority of fleshed ewes making from €100 to €129. The majority of cull ewes are selling from €95 to €110, with plain-quality feeding ewes and broken mouth ewes selling from €60 to €80/head.
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