Lamb prices are coming under pressure once again this week after seeing a slight boost last week.
Buying for the Eid-al Adha festival up to the end of last week for its commencement on Saturday (July 9) meant lamb prices improved slightly last week, however that was short lived, with orders being filled and prices now back by up 20c/kg on last week.
Base prices alone, since this time last week, are back anywhere from 10-15c/kg for lambs.
Quotes were hard to come by from factories at the start of this week, with only Irish Country Meats going on record with a quote of €7.20/kg plus a 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus.
Reports are indicating that base prices in other meat processing factories are back as far as €7.10/kg.
At the top end of the market, deals are reportedly being secured from €7.40/kg up to €7.50/kg. There are some deals 5-10c/kg above this being being secured in some cases, but factories are doing their best to not go above this level to secure lambs.
Turning to the cull ewe trade, base prices for ewes have also eased back at some meat processing plants, with quotes ranging from €3.70/kg up to €3.90/kg.
Top prices for ewes, however, continue to hit over €4.00/kg, up as far as €4.30/kg.