Factory lamb prices over the past week at marts have taken a knock of between €2 and €5/head.
Cuts in factory prices during the week of 10-20c/kg, as expected, trickled down into the mart trade.
The first sign of factory agents to pull back was last Friday week and ever since then, marts have reported an easing of the factory lamb trade.
Looking at the trade, prices for factory lambs over the last few days have ranged from €115-118/head up to €130-132/head – with very few selling above this range and if so, they are meeting interest from butchers.
Butcher lambs, over the past week, have generally been moving at prices between €130/head up to €140/head – with some rising to €143-145/head.
Mart managers continue to note a solid demand for store lambs, with farmers placing more emphasis on buying nice quality ewe lambs in particular.
The cull ewe trade continues to perform well, many of those heavy ewes continue to move at prices ranging from €140/head up to €160-170/head – with prices more than this fewer than what was seen in weeks gone by.
The hogget trade has slowed up across marts the last few weeks. Some mart managers have called prices to be easier by €10-20/head.
Sales of hogget ewes at special sales continue to perform strongly, as seen at the Wicklow Cheviot Sheep Breeders’ sale at Blessington Mart on Tuesday.
However, general mart sales have seen prices for hogget ewes trail off, particularly plainer and lighter types of late.
€120-160/head seems to be the run of the trade for those lesser-quality hoggets, while many of the better quality types are being sold at prices ranging from €180/head up to €210/head – with the most eye-catching types selling to highs of €220-260/head.