Reduced supplies of spring lambs have kept the trade for these lots steady for the week ending October 23, but trade remains mixed across key export markets.

Figures from the Department of Agriculture show that there has been a drop of 1,818 spring lamb throughput between the second and third week of October.

According to Bord Bia, base quotes for lamb were generally making between €4.50-4.60/kg with higher quotes reported for selected lots while cull ewes made in the region of €2.50/kg.

The total or cumulative spring lamb kill in 2015 is running 70,649 ahead of 2014 levels, figures from the Department of Agriculture show.

According to these figures, there has been a 6% increase in the cumulative number of spring lamb slaughterings to October 18.

There has been a massive drop in cull ewe and ram throughput, with a 14% reduction in these lots, this equates to a total of 41,386 fewer in 2015 than the same period in 2014.

In Britain, Bord Bia reports the trade to be relatively steady. The SQQ live price for lamb in England and Wales was making the equivalent of around €4.38/kg deadweight (DW) during the early part of the week.

In France, the trade has eased further due to reduced demand and school holidays in the Parisian area while good volumes of lamb have been reported on the market, says Bord Bia.

Promotions were centred on forequarter cuts and legs of lamb. Grade 1 Irish lamb was making €4.73/kg (DW including VAT) towards the end of the week.