The Eid al-Adha festival has really driven on demand for fleshed lambs over the past fortnight. Buying has been very strong in the lead-up to the festival, which is due to start on 21 August and end on the evening of 25 August.

Lamb prices have remained steady, with most producers securing prices of €5.00/kg to €5.10/kg including bonus payments.

Farmers supplying through groups or supply arrangements have in cases secured €5.10/kg to €5.15/kg while deals are also being done on weight limits. Greater exporter activity has helped to put a floor under prices and created competition for fleshed ram lambs.

Factory prices remain steady on last week. Dawn Meats has increased its quote to an all-in price of €5.00/kg, including bonus payments. Last week, it quoted €4.90/kg (+5QA).

Kildare Chilling continues with its quote of €5.00/kg plus 10c quality assurance (QA). Irish Country Meats has quoted €4.90/kg plus 10c QA and Kepak has a base quote of €4.95/kg plus 5c QA.

Throughput has been exceptionally strong as factories focus on maximising the lamb kill to fill higher orders leading up to the Eid al-Adha festival.

The total sheep kill was 58,209 head last week. This is almost 6,000 head higher than the same period in 2017. However, it has eased back from the exceptionally high kill of 63,326 head a fortnight ago due to the bank holiday.

The high kill does not take into account the high percentage of lambs that are killing out lower than anticipated and as a result contributing to a lower volume of sheepmeat being processed. Processors continue to comment on the flesh cover of lambs being presented for sale is lower than usual. They are asking farmers to draft lambs carefully to ensure that lambs not only hit weight targets but also handle well. Some agents have commented that where the quality or supply of grass is variable farmers should consider concentrate feeding.

Cull ewes

The cull ewe trade is a little more difficult this week. Factory agents are concentrating the majority of their focus on lambs and have not been as interested in ewes this week. The cull ewe quotes are ranging from €2.60/kg to €2.80/kg.

Northern Ireland

Agents in southern plants are using the northern trade to boost throughput down south and were very active recently, sourcing lambs for direct slaughter. A total of 10,378 lambs came down south for direct slaughter last week, this is slightly up on the week previous but it remains an important source for southern plants. In the North, prices remain steady at £4.05/kg (equivalent of €4.79/kg including VAT).

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