Sheep trade: Covid-19 affects factory prices, as base quotes drop by up to 20c/kg

Hogget prices have fallen for the first time since November 2019, as the impact of the coronavirus outbreak sets in.

Looking at the quotes, both Kildare Chilling and Kepak Athleague are offering a base quote of 560c/kg; whereas, Irish Country Meats is offering 550c/kg.

This, in turn, means that quotes are back 10-20c/kg on last week, which is a major setback for Irish sheep farmers – having seen strong prices for their stock since the turn of the year.

One factory, in particular, has said: “Some of our customers have shut up shop, which means there is less of a demand for sheepmeat and it will end up that we won’t be able to process as many sheep as we have been doing over the last while.

“However, we plan to keep operating as usual as well as taking every necessary precaution that is in place, along with adhering to the advice of the Department of Agriculture.”

As of last week, farmers involved in producer groups were making up to 620c/kg; however, this week will be a completely different story.

At current market prices, farmers are securing between 570c/kg and 580c/kg including quality assurance (QA) bonuses.

Interestingly, quotes for cast ewes remain unchanged from last week, with prices of up to 310c/kg readily achievable across meat processing facilities.

Quotes

This week, Kildare Chilling (Monday quote) is offering a base price of 560c/kg + 10c/kg QA – a decrease of 20c/kg on last week (payable up to a carcass weight of 23kg).

Kepak Athleague (Monday quote) is offering a base price of 560c/kg + 15c/kg – a decrease of 10c/kg on last week (payable up to a carcass of 22.5kg).

And, finally, Irish Country Meats (Monday quote) is offering a base price of 550c/kg + 10c/kg – a decrease of 20c/kg on last week.

Overall, when the QA is factored in, this leaves quotes at 560-575c/kg.

In addition, cast ewes are making 300-310c/kg in sheep processing plants (payable up to a carcass of 40kg).

Throughput

During the week ending March 5, the number of hoggets processed increased by 1,439 head and amounted to 43,984.

Cast (ewe and ram) supplies at the Department of Agriculture approved sheep export plants stood at 5,230 – an increase of 464 – for the week ending March 5.

Furthermore, overall supplies increased by 1,912 head during the week ending March 5.

Data source: Department of Agriculture

Cumulative figures for the year-to-date have reached 496,113 head, which is an increase of over 54,000 head compared to the 2019 figure of 441,901.