The mart sheep trade remains resilient despite the uncertainty in France.
Monday’s marts indicate that butchers lambs are up €2/head on last week while the store and factory lamb trade remains unchanged.
There were 500 sheep on offer in Fermoy mart on Monday reported Sean Leahy, Mart Manager.
“We had a lively trade, which was similar to last week,” he said.
The butcher lamb trade remained good at the Cork venue, butchers lambs sold from €2.18-2.38/kg, he reported.
The factory lambs also remained in strong demand with the hammer falling for lots at for €2.07-2.32/kg.
“There were a lot of cast ewes on offer and the heavier the ewe the better the trade she met.”
He added that feeder type cast ewes sold for €78-94/head while heavier fat ewes sold from €110-126/head.
Store lambs also remained strong, the hammer fell for lots at €2.12-2.21/kg.
There were 710 sheep on offer in Kilkenny on Monday, reported George Candler, Auctioneer.
He added that cull ewes are down on previous weeks by approximately €10-15/head and sold to a tops of €121.
The heavier butcher type lambs met with a very firm trade, he added, with lots selling from €1.93-2.15/kg or €50-60 over.
Factory lambs sold for €1.95-2.15/kg or €45-52 over, he reported. 43kg lambs sold for €88, while 45kg lambs sold for €95.
He also said the store trade remained buoyant with lots sold for €1.98-2.28/kg.
Headford Mart had 600 sheep on offer on Saturday reported Mart Manager Joe Wynne.
“The trade for store lambs remained strong and we had a good overall sale,” he said.
Store lambs sold for €70-96/head. There were also a small number of ewe lambs on offer and these sold for €90-108/head.
Factory lambs averaged €100/head in the Galway venue, while cast ewes sold for €80-105/head.
Dowra Mart, reported that factory and butcher type lambs met a solid trade on Saturday, said Terry McGovern, Mart Manger.
However, he added that the lighter type lambs were back slightly on last week with the top lots running towards €90/head.
The mountain type cast ewe sold for €40/head. Feeder type cast ewes sold from €65-80/head while the heavier lots for €100/head.
Raphoe mart also reported a firm trade for sheep on Monday.
Mart Manager Anne Harkin said that store lambs sold for €35-90 over, while factory lots made €42-66 over.
Cast ewes at the Donegal venue sold from €51-123/head.
French Protest
The French farmer protests are of significant concern for Irish meat exports and practically the Irish lamb.
According to Meat Industry Ireland, these actions are a cause of significant concern for Irish meat exports. In particular, the lamb trade is very vulnerable given the traditional high level of exports of Irish lamb to the French market during our peak production season.
Indeed, the French actions could not come at a worse time for the sheep sector with quotes for lambs already coming under pressure. Quotes in the region of €4.50/kg are now expected for lambs towards the end of the week as processors report problems in getting product through to the French market.