The demand for spring lamb around the country’s sheep marts has slipped slightly this week as factories pull their quotes by as much as 10c/kg.

There has been a 25% increase in lamb throughput at factories for the week ending September 20, with industry sources identifying this as the main reason for the drop on in mart prices.

[table id=54 /]

There were 1,964 sheep on offer in New Ross Mart on Saturday, according to Mart Manager Richard Kirwan.

According to Kirwan, the trade for finished stock has eased on previous weeks, but the demand remains firm for the remainder of the lots on offer.

The trade for fat sheep was a little easier on Saturday, said Kirwan, butcher type lambs sold from €101-108 or €53-58 over, while the factory type lots made €93-102 or €43-46 over.

However, despite the slight dip in the butcher and factory lots, the trade for store and ewe lambs remained lively. Store lambs sold from €68-91 or €37-48 over, while ewe lambs sold for €95-118.

There was also firm demand for cast ewes and this was reflected in the prices achieved, factory fit cull ewes sold from €100-119, while the feeder type lots made €56-96 each.

The trade for hogget ewes in the Wexford venue remained similar to previous weeks with these lots selling to a tops of €156.

There was a good trade in Dowra Mart on Friday, according to the Mart Manager Terry McGovern, who said that the demand for store lambs seen prices increase by €5/head.

According to McGovern, lambs which had been making €60-65 last week had increased in value by approximately €5/head.

He added that there were very few factory and butcher type lambs on offer, and he said that the top price lambs which made €98 were not even fit to kill.

Despite the relative increase in the prices paid for store lambs, the trade for breeding stock remained similar to previous weeks, said McGovern.

Hogget ewes in Dowra sold from €135-168, while the lower quality mountain cross hoggets made €115-140.

The older feeder type mountain ewes made €40-55 each, while the better quality crossbred ewes made from €60-85 with the tops of the fat ewes selling to a tops of €115/head.

The trade in Kenmare Mart on Monday remained reasonably well, said the Mart’s Patrick Doyle.

The prices achieved were similar to previous weeks, said Doyle, with lowland cross mountain  lambs selling from €2.00-2.15/kg. Similar type ewe lambs sold from €2.00-2.30/kg.

There was also a good trade for mountain type store lambs, with the wether type lambs selling for €1.70-1.90/kg while counterpart ewe lambs sold from €2.00-2.20/kg.

There was also a smaller number of cast ewes on offer, these lots generally sold for €1/kg, with the poorer quality lots selling for €10 under the weight, while the smaller number of hogget ewes on offer sold from €100-120.

The trade was a little easier in Elphin Mart on Monday evening according to the Mart Manager Gerry Connellan.

According to the Mart Manager, the trade for factory and butcher lots had eased slightly on previous weeks with these lots selling for €1.82-2.09/kg and €1.76-2.11/kg respectively.

The demand for store lambs remained strong, said Connellan, despite a reduced number on offer. These lots sold from €1.98-2.35/kg or €37-45 over.

Cast ewes also remained in strong demand and these lots made from €90-106/head while the younger breeding lots sold from €105-118 while the hammer fell on the hogget ewes at €140-170.