Heavy lambs made up to €232/head at Carnew Mart in Co. Wicklow’s first sale of 2025 on Thursday, January 2.
The sale featured almost 1,500 head of sheep and “prices were improved by€6-10/head” on the last sale of 2024 at the mart venue.
“There was a great demand for all classes of sheep from wholesalers, factory agents and farmers,” according to a sale report from mart management.
Sample lamb prices from the first sheep sale of 2025 at Carnew Mart:
- Two 68kg ram lambs sold for €232/head;
- Three 60kg ram lambs sold for €225/head;
- Nine 53kg ram lambs sold for €219/head;
- 25 50kg ram and ewe lambs sold for €212/head;
- Nine 28kg ewe lambs sold for€126/head;
- Nine 30kg ewe lambs sold for €134/head.
The cumulative 2024 sheep kill fell by approximately 13% or 377,000 head to just over 2.45 million and the year saw tight supplies of Irish sheep for processing throughout the year.
There were a range of factors that contributed to the reduced kill including a smaller carryover of hoggets for processing in the early months of 2024, fewer breeding ewes, poor weather conditions during peak lambing season and a decline in the number of hoggets and lambs being imported from Northern Ireland for direct slaughter, according to Bord Bia.
The table below gives an overview of the 2024 weekly sheep kills versus 2023:
Irish sheep meat export volumes were back 22% in volume terms in the first nine months of 2024, according to the latest available data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
As a result of the fall in Irish sheep meat volumes, exporters concentrated on European markets, which accounted for three quarters of all exports in 2024, according to Bord Bia.
The Irish food board highlighted that exports to international markets fell by approximately 30% in volume terms.
France continues to be the largest export market for Irish sheep meat and as of September export volumes were back 17% and values back 5% to €94.8 million.
On the contrary, exports to Germany were on par with 2023 to reach €53.2 million in the first nine months of 2024.
While the overall volume of Irish sheep meat exports declined in 2024, the unit price/kg increased by around 18% compared to 2023.
Supply outlook for lambs
Bord Bia has forecast supplies of sheep for processing to remain subdued across Europe in the short term. The subdued supply is forecast due to the contraction in the breeding ewe flock.
While this tighter supply dynamic supports higher deadweight prices, the Irish Food Board has cautioned that “it creates challenges when securing market returns for Irish lamb”.
Consumers in Europe continue to be highly price sensitive and the European Commission is forecasting a 1% decrease in lamb consumption for 2025.