Hogget prices at the start of this week remain steady, with no change of substance to report from prices from the end of last week.
Price cuts for hoggets have materialised over the last two weeks after a brief recovery had been seen three weeks ago.
Coming into this week however, factories remain firm on the prices they finished on the week prior.
Some movement to report is that a western-based plant has increased its offering for hoggets by 5c/kg to now stand on a base price of €5.95/kg plus a 15c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus.
However, this increase has done to little to stir the trade, with reported prices across the board to the same level as last week despite this slight increase.
Elsewhere, Kildare Chilling continues its quote of €6.00/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for hoggets.
Irish Country Meats is also holding firm at a base of €5.90/kg plus a QA bonus of 20c/kg.
This is leaving hogget base quotes ranging from €5.90/kg up to €6.00/kg – unchanged from the end of last week.
The base quotes on offer are leaving prices for QA hoggets at €6.10/kg currently.
Prices at the top end of the market are remaining at the €6.20-6.30/kg mark in general, with deals 5-10c/kg above this being secured by producers, particularly where larger numbers are on hand.
The ewe trade remains unchanged. Base quotes remain at €3.00-3.20/kg, with top prices hitting €3.50-3.60/kg.