Factory demand for suitably-finished lambs is strong and prices have risen, according to sheep chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Kevin Comiskey.
Factory agents have been very active over the past few days trying to secure numbers of suitably-finished lambs, with deals to 22kg available, the IFA sheep chair said.
Prices of €6.40/kg and €6.50/kg have become “a lot easier to negotiate”, Comiskey said, with higher prices on offer for groups and larger lots.
Cull ewes are in general moving between €3.40/kg and €3.80/kg, with some deals above these prices, he added.
Strong lamb prices at over €8.00/kg in France provide a real opportunity for factories, particularly as large volumes of lamb from New Zealand continue to be directed towards the Chinese market.
“It’s a critical time of year for sheep farmers and factories must return strong, viable prices to reflect production costs on farms and to ensure store lamb buyers remain active in marts.
“Factories are very anxious for lambs and farmers should sell hard while moving lambs when fit,” according to the IFA sheep chair.
Comiskey previously said factories must do more in the market place to support sheep farmers, and that Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue must come forward with meaningful supports.
Lamb prices
Base prices are the same this week as last week, with factories paying up to €6.40-€6.50/kg for lambs.
Last week saw some base prices with a 20c/kg difference from the lowest to the highest base prices on offer from meat processing plants.
Base quotes for lambs, from the factories that offered a quote, at the start of last week ranged from €6.00-6.20/kg.
The above quoted prices are the same to what was on the table, largely, a year ago from factories for lambs when base prices were back down to €6.00/kg as well.
Prices at the top end of the market ranged from €6.30-6.40/kg in general – and up to €6.50/kg in cases. The ewe trade came under further pressure, with base quotes falling back to €3.10/kg in cases.