An unbelievable trade was seen at Enniscorthy Mart on Wednesday (March 24) for cull ewes, with prices topping €192/head for 110kg ewes.

Speaking about the trade on Wednesday, the mart’s assistant manager, Kevin Murphy, said: “We had a much bigger sheep sale this week and on the back of a very strong cull ewe trade, there was a very large entry of cull ewes on offer.

“The big entry did not affect the trade as we had an excellent trade all around, with buyers eager for everything as finished sheep seem to be extremely scarce. Sheep prices have never been as strong.

“A small number of spring lambs were on offer with the trade on fire for these lots, as lambs made up to €146 over the kilo. All the spring lambs on offer were bought by local butchers to supply the easter market,” Kevin said.

There was a massive entry of cull ewes for the time of the year on the back of an excellent trade last week, with cull ewes up €30/head in places, according to Kevin.

Kevin noted that finished hoggets were not as strong as last week but still a fantastic trade due to the huge demand, even for the store types.

Factory agents continued to compete very strongly with local butchers and wholesale butchers for the heavier butcher-type hoggets at Enniscorthy. Prices ranged from €162/head for 20 at 56kg hoggets up to the highest price of the day €175/head for 63kg hoggets.

There are still a few store hoggets going through the ring Kevin said. They ranged in price from €130/head for 10 at 38kg up to €148/head for 12 at 45kg.