The sheep trade is starting the shorter week in account of the bank holiday on a steady note overall with prices relatively unchanged.
Quotes from factories by and large have remained on par to last week, with the only move being an easing in base price for hoggets from one meat processing plant.
Kildare Chilling and a western-based plant remain on a base price of €7.20/kg which includes quality assurance (QA) bonuses factored in for hoggets.
Irish Country Meats on the other hand has eased it’s offering for hoggets significantly to €6.80/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus.
Despite this, prices at the top end of the market continue to range from €7.30-7.40/kg for hoggets.
Furthermore, base prices for spring lambs with QA bonuses factored in are leaving an all-in price of €8.00/kg across the board from factories.
Factories are also paying up to different weights for spring lambs, with Irish Country Meats last week moving up to 20.5kg, with the rest of the meat processing plants continuing to pay up to 20kg.
Prices at the top end of the market for spring lambs are generally hitting up to €8.20/kg with deals 5-10c/kg above this also being secured in cases.
The cull ewe trade remains firm, with quotes holding at €3.70-3.80/kg and deals topping €4.00/kg at the top end of the market.