It was another very positive week for the sheep trade in marts, with a number of exporters back in buying form again this week on the back of big international demand for ram lambs.

Finished lambs continue to be in short supply, with lower grass growth in parts of the country delaying finishing times on some farms.

Cull ewes were also a very solid trade, with over €2/kg being paid for well fleshed heavy ewes on Monday night.

Five well welshed Texel cull ewes weighing 96kg saw the hammer drop at €216/head (€2.25/kg). Another pen of 6 Texel cross cull ewes weighed 88kh and sold for €194/head (€2.20/kg)

Factory lambs were in demand, with a Suffolk ewe lamb weighing 50kg selling at €197 (€3.94/kg). Finished lambs were generally being sold at the €4/kg mark.

There was also good demand for ewes, with lambs at foot with a number of outfits crossing the €200 mark. One of the top prices was €208 for a ewe with a single lamb.

Kingscourt mart manager Lisa Keenan said; “We saw great demand again this week from both butchers, factory agents, wholesalers and live exporters. Lamb numbers are still slow to come out, so that is helping the trade as demand is still very good.

Kingscourt mart holds its sheep sales every Monday, with suckler weanling and general cattle sales taking place on Saturday each week.