The total spring lamb throughput at sheep meat export plants has risen by 10%, figures from the Department of Agriculture show.
This throughput for the weekending September 20 sits at 65,781 which has risen from 52,433 for the corresponding period in 2014.
The weekly spring lamb kill is also up, with 25% more lambs slaughtered on the weekending September 20 than the corresponding week last year, this is a difference of 13,348 head, these figures show.
The total number of 2014 born lambs (lambs/hoggets) has also dropped significantly down 5% on 2014, it says.
Figures from the Department also show that the weekly kill has fallen by 25% on the corresponding week in 2014, with 83 of these animals slaughtered falling from 1,342, it says.
The cumulative cull kill (ewes and rams) has also reduced by 15%, bringing the total ewe and ram slaughterings to 211,209 in 2015, this has been matched with a 45% reduction in the weekly kill which has dropped to 6,389 head.
Sheep Trade
There was a further rise in the sheep trade this week on the back of some increase in demand with base quotes for Irish lamb sitting at €4.60-4.70/kg, according to Bord Bia.
It reported that there has been a firm increase in demand across the Irish key export markets as demand continues to build for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
In Britain, the trade has strengthened on the back of higher demand due to the upcoming Muslim festival, it says.
The SQQ live price for lamb in England and Wales was making the equivalent of around €4.65/kg dw towards the end of the week, reports Bord Bia.
According to Bord Bia, the French trade remains relatively steady particularly in the northern half of the country with poorer demand in the south due to the weather conditions.
A further increase in demand is anticipated ahead of the upcoming Muslim festival. Grade 1 Irish lamb was making €4.99/kg (DW incl VAT) towards the end of the week.
