There continues to be upward movement in the hogget trade, as the prices factories have quoted have risen significantly for today (Monday, February 19).
Factory quotes for hoggets have increased by up to 25c/kg in a week, while the ewe trade remains unchanged.
Base quotes for hoggets are now ranging from €7.00/kg to €7.20/kg, while quality assured (QA) hoggets are ranging from €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg.
The prices in the trade continue to be in a better position than the same week in 2023, when base prices stood at €5.80/kg to €6.10/kg.
The comparisons of this week’s prices compared to 12 months ago indicate that base prices for hoggets have increased by up to €1.20/kg in a year.
Hogget and lamb prices
Kildare Chilling has increased it’s offering for hoggets/lambs by 20c/kg at the start of this week in the sheep trade, and provided a quote for farmers today (Monday, February 19) only, of €7.20/kg, plus a 10c QA bonus up to 23kg for hoggets/lambs, a total of €7.30/kg.
They are offering €5.00/kg for light hoggets/lambs under 15kg, or those that are grading from an O2 to P1.
Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €7.00/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus bringing its offering to €6.95/kg for a hogget, showing an increase of 25c/kg since last week.
Other outlets are quoting €7.05/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus, bringing their price offerings up to €7.20/kg, and these are paying up to 23kg also.
Ewe prices
In it’s quotes for today only, Kildare Chilling has offered €2.90/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for ewes from 23kg to 35kg.
For ewes between 35kg to 43kg, Kildare Chilling offered farmers €3.10/kg plus a 10c QA bonus, a total of €3.20/kg for a better type ewe.
Ewes under 23kg and rams weighing up to 43kg are both being quoted at €2.30/kg by Kildare Chilling today, which is an increase of 10c/kg.
ICM is offering €3.20/kg for fat ewes, which is an increase of 30c/kg since last week.
Other outlets are offering €3/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for a ewe up to 35kg, a total of €3.10/kg.