No one could have predicted where sheep prices are at the minute, with both spring lamb and hogget prices in territory never walked on before.

The news this week is that spring lamb prices are hitting €8.50/kg, and hoggets at €8.00/kg – prices that have never been seen.

There’s a lot of factors contributing to these price increases, some of which include: tighter supplies; fewer imports of sheepmeat from New Zealand into the EU; fewer live imports from the north to the south; Ramadan; and a strong retail demand which is seeing more people cooking from home, and buying more expensive cuts of meat, due to not being able to dine-out because of the ongoing Coranvirus pandemic.

If we take look back to this time last year, and see what spring lambs were making in factories, the difference in prices is eye-opening.

Price Comparison

Base prices for spring lambs were hovering around the €6.10-6.20/kg mark, with prices of up to €6.40-6.50/kg on the table.

If we take a look now, base prices are hitting near, and in some cases are above the €8.00/kg mark, with top prices of up €8.50/kg being secured for spring lambs.

If we take €8.50/kg for example, and compare it to the €6.50/kg on offer this time last year, at a carcass weight of 20kg, that equates to a difference of €40/head.

In terms of hoggets, the figures make for even better reading. Hogget base prices last year were around the €5.50-5.60/kg mark.

If we take a base quote for hoggets this week at €7.60/kg and compare it to what it was this time last year, which was €5.60/kg at a 23kg carcass weight, the difference is €46/head.

Those supplying hoggets to the factories at the moment are successfully securing higher weights (23.5-24kg) and prices up as high as €8.00/kg, which would make hogget prices €50/head stronger and a small bit more in cases, in comparison to this time last year.

Marts

Marts are proving to be just as good an alternative to the factory, with spring lambs hitting highs of €180-190/head at sales this week.

The hogget trade is proving to be even stronger this week, with top prices at sales for heavy hoggets reaching €180-190/head, and as high as €195/head in cases.

The cull ewe trade is rocking, with prices again at some sales this week breaching the €200/head mark for heavy ewes, with prices for 85kg plus ewes ranging anywhere from €130-180/head, in general.