The hogget trade has continued to go from strength-to-strength, as factory quotes have continued to rise for the third consecutive week.
Base quotes for hoggets are now ranging from €7.35/kg-7.50/kg, while quality assured (QA) hoggets are ranging from €7.50/kg-7.60/kg.
The corresponding week in 2023 saw hogget base prices stand from €5.80/kg-5.90/kg, while QA hoggets reached €6/kg.
Therefore, base priced hoggets fetching this week are now ahead by between €1.55/kg-1.70kg ahead of last year’s factory prices, which is an increase of between €35.65-39.10/head on a 23kg hogget carcass.
Hogget and lamb prices
Kildare Chilling has increased it’s offering for hoggets/lambs by 30c/kg at the start of this week in the sheep trade, and provided a quote for farmers yesterday (Monday, February 26) of €7.50/kg, plus a 10c QA bonus up to 23kg for hoggets/lambs – a total of €7.60/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) moved its hogget price up to a base price of €7.40/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, a total of €7.60/kg.
Other outlets are quoting €7.35/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus, bringing their price offerings up to €7.50/kg, and these are paying up to 23kg also.
Ewe prices
In it’s quotes for today only, Kildare Chilling has offered €3.00/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for ewes from 23kg to 35kg, an increase of 10c/kg.
For ewes between 35kg to 43kg, Kildare Chilling offered farmers €3.20/kg plus a 10c QA bonus, a total of €3.30/kg for a better type ewe and an increase of 10c/kg since last week.
Ewes under 23kg and rams weighing up to 43kg are both being quoted at €2.50/kg by Kildare Chilling today, which is an increase of 20c/kg since last week.
ICM is offering €3.20/kg for heavy ewes, while other outlets are offering €3.20/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for a ewe up to 35kg, a total of €3.30/kg.