While spring lamb prices have continued to remain steady, the cull ewe trade has received another hit this week.
Prices for ewes have dropped by as much as 20c/kg from some processors this week, coming at a time when many farmers sending more ewes to the factory.
A factory procurement manager told Agriland that while there are “lots of ewes coming out at the moment”, but that these ewes are coming in to the factory “light“.
This week, the trade for fleshed lambs that are ranging from 47-56kgs was described as a “good solid trade” by Kilkenny Mart auctioneer George Candler.
These comments were made following the sheep sale at the mart on Monday, September 9, with Candler saying that the store lamb trade was “less buoyant compared to the last few weeks”, as he explained there are “less active customers”.
Factories are paying to a 22kg carcass weight in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), while the average deadweight of lambs slaughtered locally in Northern Ireland for the month of August came to an average of 21.2kg, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission.
Spring lamb prices
This week, Irish Country Meats (ICM) is offering €7.00/kg plus a 20c quality assurance (QA) bonus, bringing its offering to €7.20/kg up to a 22kg carcass weight for a spring lamb – the same price as last week.
Other outlets have offered €7.05/kg plus a QA bonus of 15c/kg, a total of €7.20/kg for a spring lamb.
Cull ewe prices
ICM is paying €3.70/kg up to 45kg for ewes this week, which is a reduction of 20c/kg in a week.
Some processors are offering €3.80/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for ewes weighing from 35kg to 43kg, and €3.30/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for ewes weighing from 23kg to 35kg, a reduction of 10c/kg in a week.
Other processors are paying €3.70/kg for ewes.