A tightening of supplies and the fact Ramadan is just around the corner seems to be driving the sheep trade at the moment.

Spring lamb and hogget quotes have surged upwards over the last few days, as factories actively try and source supplies.

Base quotes for hoggets are sitting around the €6.10-6.20/kg mark – which is up 60c/kg on last week.

A similar story for spring lambs can be seen, with base quotes on the rise this week. Prices of between €6.40/kg and €6.50/kg are readily achievable.

In some cases, prices of up to €6.80/kg are being secured by some producers for spring lambs.

Processors are saying that tight supplies and the upcoming Ramadan festival are contributing to an increase in prices at the moment.

Furthermore, meat processing plants are urging farmers to move sheep on as they come fit, citing that a large number of overweight animals – in particular hoggets – are being presented.

Another factor contributing to the increase in factory prices is the fact that marts are still not fully up and running.

Marts that are back in action – in some capacity – are reporting that they only have half or even less than half the number of sheep that they would normally have on offer – under normal circumstances – which is seeing buyers battle it out for factory and butcher-type sheep.

The Ramadan festival – which is due is to kick off later on this week – is also another contributing factor to the increase in factory prices and farmers will be hoping that this will see prices remain strong throughout the next couple of weeks.

Quotes

Taking a look at the quotes on offer, both Irish Country Meats (ICM) and Kepak Athleague (Monday quote) are offering a base price of 640c/kg – up to a carcass weight of 20kg – for spring lambs.

Whereas, Kildare Chilling (Monday quote) is offering a base price of 660c/kg for spring lambs up to a carcass weight of 20kg.

When quality assurance (QA) bonuses are factored in, this leaves quotes at 650-670c/kg for spring lambs.

Taking a look at the quotes for hoggets, ICM and Kepak Athleague (Monday quote) are offering a base price of 610c/kg, while Kildare Chilling (Tuesday quote) is offering a base price of 620c/kg.

When QA bonuses are added in, this leaves prices standing at 620-630c/kg for hoggets.

Reports over the last few days suggest that farmers have been offered as much as 660c/kg for hoggets by meat processing plants.

Turning to the cast ewe quotes, base quotes are at the 270c/kg mark. When QA is taken into account, prices of up 280c/kg are achievable.

Throughput

During the week ending April 12, the number of hoggets processed increased by 4,742 head and amounted to 41,761 head.

Cast (ewe and ram) supplies at the Department of Agriculture approved sheep export plants stood at 4,562 head – an increase of 1,379 head – for the week ending April 12.

Furthermore, the number of spring lambs processed amounted to 3,833 for the week ending April 12.

Week-on-week sheep kill supplies (week ending April 12):

  • Hoggets: 41,761 head (+4,742 or +12.8%);
  • Spring lambs: 3,833 head (+1,480 or +62.9%);
  • Ewes and rams: 4,562 head (+1,379 or +43%);
  • Total: 50,156 head (+4,490 or +9.8%).

Moreover, overall supplies increased by 4,490 head during the week ending April 12 and amounted to 50,156 head.

Cumulative figures for the year to date have reached 743,018 head, which is an increase of over 75,000 head compared to the 2019 figure of 667,372 head.

Year-on-year sheep kill changes (week ending April 12):

  • Hoggets: 648,446 head (+93,278 or +17%);
  • Spring lambs: 6,186 head (+1,331 or +18%);
  • Ewes and rams: 88,368 head (-16,316 or -16%);
  • Total: 743,018 head (+75,646 or +11%).