The sheep trade after the bank holiday weekend is beginning on a steady note, with factories holding tight to what they were quoting last week.
The base prices this week however, are up to 80c/kg ahead of a year ago, when base quotes for lambs stood at €5.90-6.00/kg, with quality assured (QA) lambs moving at prices ranging from €6.00-6.10/kg.
It is a different story 12 months later, with base prices standing at €6.65-6.80/kg and QA lambs hitting €6.85-6.90/kg.
Quotes from sheep factories have shown stability today (Tuesday, February 6), with little movement in the prices to be paid to farmers for their livestock during this shorter processing week.
There are lower numbers of sheep being slaughtered this year, as the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) have shown that there has been over 6,000 fewer sheep slaughtered in 2024, than during the same period last year.
Lamb prices
Kildare Chilling has maintained it’s offering for lambs at the start of this week in the sheep trade, and provided a quote for farmers today (Tuesday, February 6) only, of €6.80/kg, plus a 10c QA bonus up to 23kg for spring lambs, a total of €6.90/kg.
They are offering €5.00/kg for light lambs under 16kg, or those that are grading from an O2 to P1.
Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €6.65/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus bringing its offering to €6.85/kg for lambs.
Other outlets have raised their prices by 5c/kg and are quoting €6.75/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus, bringing their price offerings up to €6.90/kg, and these are paying up to 23kg also.
Ewe prices
In it’s quotes for Tuesday only, the outlet offered €2.90/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for ewes from 23kg to 35kg, which is an increase of 20c/kg since last week.
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, also an increase of 20c/kg since last week.
Ewes under 23kg and rams weighing up to 43kg are both being quoted at €2.20/kg by Kildare Chilling today.
ICM is offering €2.80/kg for fat ewes, while other outlets are offering €2.85/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for a ewe up to 35kg, a total of €2.95/kg.