The sheep trade is starting the week in a positive manner, with lamb prices seeing 10c/kg increases.
Not all factories have made moves forward this week however, with some holding to last week’s price. Those that held price last week have moved to keep pace with those that did up their price last week.
In other cases, some meat processing plants have upped their offering on last week again.
Looking at what’s on offer from factories, Kildare Chilling remains out in front with a base price of €6.20/kg plus a 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus – up 10c/kg on this time last week.
Irish Country Meats has increased its offering for lambs this week by 10c/kg – having held firm last week – and is now on a base price of €6.10/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus.
Reports from other factories point to base prices holding but when QA bonuses are factored in, it brings them on par to some other factories.
Taking this all into account, base prices across factories range from €6.05/kg up to €6.20/kg, with prices for QA lambs ranging from €6.20-6.30/kg.
This is leaving prices at the top end of the market at €6.30-6.45/kg in general, with prices as high as €6.50/kg being secured as well.
The above quotes are up to a 22kg carcass weight.
Although the increases in lamb prices over the last week are positive, factories are reminding farmers to present clean sheep for slaughter, with vets beginning to clamp down on dirty lambs, one procurement manager told Agriland.
Ewe quotes on the rise also
There is also more positive movement to report on ewe prices, with base prices also seeing a lift of 10c/kg in cases.
In recent weeks, base prices for ewes had fallen back as far as €2.70/kg; however, coming into the start of this week, base prices across meat processing plants for ewes range from €2.90/kg up to €3.00/kg, with top prices reaching as high as €3.50/kg in general.