Lamb prices this week at marts have recovered from last week, with mart managers calling prices to be stronger by €3-5/head.
Last week, lamb prices at marts had slipped back by €2-5/head on average, but this week, many marts have seen prices recover – in line with increasing factory prices.
There’s a strong demand continuing to be seen ringside from all sides, with butchers, factory agents and farmers all extremely active for lambs.
Looking at the trade over the past week at marts, those well-fleshed butcher-type lambs have generally traded from €162-164/head up to €170/head. Some exceptional lots rose to €173/head and some sold back to €155/head – with this being the case for lesser-quality lambs or ram lambs.
Factory lambs have generally moved at prices ranging from as low as €140/head up to highs of €160-164/head.
Forward-store lambs have been selling from €125/head up to €140/head and even up to €145-147/head – with factory agents generally coming in for lambs at these prices.
Lighter, longer-keep stores are selling from a base of €70-80/head for 25-30/kg for hill-bred lambs, up to €115-125/head for lowland-bred lambs.
Moving onto the ewe trade, the majority of those heavy ewes have been moving at prices of €140-180/head. In cases, ewes over 100kg are breaking this mark and pushing as high as €190-195/head. Store ewes have been trading from €40-50/head, up to €130/head for forward feeding ewes.