The latest quotes from factories in the sheep trade have shown further upward movement for lamb and ewe prices.
This increase in the prices for sheep was welcomed by the outgoing sheep chair of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA), Sean McNamara.
“The ball is falling back in the farmers court”, he told Agriland, referring to the lift in prices for lambs by a further 10c/kg since last week.
McNamara said that prices some farmers could receive for lambs this week could be from €7/kg to €7.10/kg.
He said that currently there are “a lot of farmers getting €7/kg flat at the moment”.
The upward movement in the trade is set to continue according to the ICSA sheep chair, who added that he expects it to “go further”.
McNamara said that due to the high numbers of lambs being purchased for export, this has driven up the competition in the trade.
The marts remain “€10 ahead of the factories” and McNamara said farmers are seeing prices of between €164 to €174/head for heavy lambs.
McNamara is set to assume the role of ICSA president at the ICSA AGM and annual conference, which will take place on Thursday (February 1) at the Athlone Springs Hotel, Monksland, in Athlone.
He will end his role as ICSA sheep chair when he takes over from outgoing ICSA president Dermot Kelleher.
With just a few days until this appointment, McNamara said the sheep trade is currently “moving in the right way”.
Lamb prices
Kildare Chilling has once again raised its offering for lambs by 10c/kg at the start of this week in the sheep trade and provided a quote for farmers today (Monday, January 29) 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, which is an increase of 10c/kg in a week.
Other outlets have also raised their prices by 10c/kg and are quoting €6.70/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus, bringing their price offerings up to €6.85/kg, and these are paying up to 23kg also.
Ewe prices
In it’s quotes for Monday 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.
Prices for ewes under 23kg have received a lift of 20c/kg, with rams weighing up to 43kg also receiving a rise of 20c/kg, with both categories of sheep now being quoted at €2.20/kg.
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.