Spring lamb prices are moving in a positive direction once again this week, with factories increasing base prices by 5-10c/kg on last week.
Kildare Chilling remains out in front with a base price of €8.10/kg plus a 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus for spring lambs – which is up 10c/kg from last week.
Irish Country Meats (ICM) has also increased its base price for spring lambs from last week by 5c/kg to now stand at €7.95/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus.
Out west, another meat processing plant has increased it’s offering for spring lambs from last week by 10c/kg to now stand at an all in price of €8.10/kg plus QA bonuses factored in.
This is leaving prices for QA lambs at between €8.05/kg and €8.20/kg, with top prices ranging from €8.20-8.30/kg for spring lambs, with deals above this level also reported.
Furthermore, factories are paying up to 20.5kg for spring lambs.
Onto the hoggets, Kildare Chilling has increased its base price by 10c/kg also this week to stand at €7.20/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus.
While ICM has opted not to quote for hoggets at the start of this week.
All in all, base prices for for hoggets are ranging from €7.05-7.20/kg from factories that are quoting.
At the top end of the market, hogget prices continue to range from €7.30-7.40/kg.
The cull ewe trade remains solid, with base prices unchanged at €3.70-3.80/kg, with top reported prices of €4.00/kg reported and even above this level are also being secured.