Sheep trade: ‘Top deals of €5.60-5.70/kg being secured for lambs’

The sheep trade is starting off on a strong foot this week, with factory base quotes for lambs ranging from €5.30/kg up to €5.50/kg.

The trade for finished lambs at marts over the past week has held firm and from looking at online sales yesterday, the trade for finished lambs looks to be holding strong again.

Mart managers continue to note that factory agents are remaining very active ringside, with one or two commenting that buyers are being left disappointed as they are finding it hard to fill orders.

Coming in behind Kildare is Irish Country Meats (ICM) with a base price of €5.30/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for lambs.

Kepak Athleague remains off the table this week, with a contact from the plant saying that it was not quoting for lambs or ewes on Monday (November 30).

Deals of between €5.60-5.65/kg are being achieved at the top end of the scale, with some deals also being done at €5.70/kg reportedly. Those handling smaller numbers are securing deals of between €5.45-5.60/kg.

It appears some deals are also being negotiated at higher weights as well, with some sellers securing deals for lambs at a 22.5-23kg carcass weight.

The sheep chairperson of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Sean Dennehy, said that deals as much as €5.70/kg are being secured for lambs.

He added: “The trade is good at the moment, with those at the top end of the market securing deals of between €5.60-5.70/kg for lambs.

There is a good demand there at the minute and the mart trade is also strong for all types of sheep.

“Looking at the cull ewe trade, again, sellers are securing top deals of up to €2.80-3.00/kg for ewes.”