Sheep trends: prices steady at firm level

Factories are attempting to steady the trade, with quotes for Thursday unchanged on last week’s level. A two-tiered pricing system remains largely in place. A high percentage of lambs traded by producers handling smaller numbers and possessing less negotiating power are trading in the region of €5.50/kg to €5.55/kg.

Sellers with greater negotiating power are securing returns of €5.60/kg to €5.65/kg, with top prices reported as rising to €5.70/kg when bonuses and payments on transport are included.

Factories remain keen to maximise throughput, with a quick turnaround time from booking to slaughter.

Last week’s kill was recorded at 53,271 head. This was an increase of 2,759 on the previous week, with the recent lift in price having the desired effect of attracting higher numbers forward. The increase stemmed from 2,440 more lambs slaughtered, with the ewe and ram kill continuing to tighten and reducing by 132 head to 7,404.

Ewe quotes have lifted 10c/kg in most plants and range from €2.90/kg to €3.00/kg. Top prices paid to sellers handling large numbers are 10c/kg to 20c/kg higher, depending on the purchasing plant and quality of ewes on offer.

For sellers with large-framed heavy ewes, it is worth checking the maximum carcase weight, with most plants paying to 40kg unless otherwise negotiated.

The mart trade remains a good alternative outlet for ewes likely to exceed this weight.

IFA national sheep chair Sean Dennehy said: “Lamb supplies remain tight and prices are continuing to rise. Factories are paying €5.60/kg to €5.70/kg for lambs and butchers and wholesalers are prepared to go as high as €5.80/kg for quality ewe lambs.”

Quotes in Northern Ireland have increased by 5p/kg to 10p/kg, with official quotes now better reflecting prices paid. Plants are quoting £4.40/kg, which is the equivalent of €5.20/kg at 84.6p to the euro and €5.48/kg including VAT at 5.4%. Top prices reported are £4.45/kg (€5.54/kg incl VAT).

British lamb prices have also increased, with the AHDB reporting average prices rising 8.7p/kg in the last week. This leaves R grading lambs trading from £4.65/kg to £4.70/kg (€5.79/kg to €5.85/kg).

Lower NZ supplies

The 2019 Lamb Crop report released this week by Beef and Lamb New Zealand estimates the number of lambs tailed in spring (autumn 2019 in northern hemisphere) decreased by 2.4% or a sizeable 552,000 head on 2018 levels to reach 22.7m.

The main drivers were the average lambing percentage recorded at 127.1%, which is a reduction of 1.5% on 2018, while the number of breeding ewes recorded on farms on 1 July 2019 reduced 1.1% to 17m head. It is expected to reduce export availability by 2.7% to 18.26m head.

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