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The sheep trade has steadied following an increase in prices paid at the end of last week. There are two changes to the quotes table on the right – Ballon Meats has increased its all-in quote by 10c/kg to €5.00/kg while Kepak Athleague has eased its base quote by 5c/kg to €4.85/kg.
A large percentage of lambs traded from individual sellers range from €4.95/kg to €5.05/kg, with top prices rising to €5.10/kg for sellers with greater negotiating power. Reports show top prices of €5.15/kg paid at the end of last week to specialist producers but this has been harder to achieve this week with the exception of group lambs securing conformation bonuses.
New IFA sheep chair Sean Dennehy from Co Cork, who takes over from John Lynskey, said: “Supplies of good-quality lambs are tight and farmers should take note of this when negotiating on price and demand maximum returns for their lambs.”
Last week’s kill was recorded at 51,532, over 3,000 head above the corresponding week in 2017. Ewe and ram throughput was tighter at 6,971 head. This is helping to underpin a solid trade, with all plants now quoting €2.80/kg, while top prices range from €3.00/kg to €3.10/kg.
The northern trade has lifted, with quotes of £4.00/kg. This equates to €4.51/kg at Wednesday’s exchange rate of 88.7p to the euro and the equivalent of €4.75/kg when VAT at 5.4% is added into the equation.
Most sellers are securing £4.05/kg (€4.81/kg incl VAT), while producer groups and specialist store lamb finishers are securing £4.10/kg to £4.15/kg (€4.87/kg to €4.92/kg).
There are no figures for the number of lambs imported last week for direct slaughter in southern plants but reports this week show buyers resuming firm purchasing activity as mart sales get up and running.
Sheep prices in the UK remain unchanged following a strong finish to 2017. AHDB report R grading lambs averaging £4.10/kg (€4.87/kg) with returns for U grades rising 5p/kg to 10p/kg higher.
Clean livestock policy
Reports show some plants ramping up their implementation of the clean livestock policy. Clipping charges vary greatly. A couple of plants are charging 20c/kg across the board, while a similar charge is being implemented only on dirty lambs in another.
There are also reports of a 30c/kg clipping charge in another, with the same plant said to be trying to introduce a charge of 80c/kg where dirty lambs also have to be dagged. All plants are also monitoring how dispatch documents are completed. Where sheep are from farms of different origin then the full 12-digit tag number must be recorded.
Factory demand strong for fleshed hoggets but numbers small so far
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