Demand for cull ewes has jumped sharply in the last week, with quotes rising in some plants by anywhere from 50c/kg to upwards of 70c/kg.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants in Camolin and Navan were the first to make the substantial leap, increasing quotes by 50c/kg to €5/kg for ewes in excess of 20kg carcase weight at the end of last week.

This moved the plant to a similar quote of €5/kg already on offer in Ballon Meats.

Kildare Chilling has moved to keep pace and has increased its quotes for Thursday by 60c/kg to 70c/kg.

The plant has a three-tiered pricing structure, with the standard quote for ewes weighing from 25kg to 40kg carcase weight at €4.90/kg plus 10c/kg quality assurance payment.

The plant is offering a higher quote of €5.20/kg for select U2, U3 and R3 ewes, while its quote for lighter ewes under 25kg carcase weight is €4.40/kg.

The move by the main processors to increase quotes has sparked a bidding war in many marts, with agents purchasing ewes for slaughtering in abattoirs and wholesalers specialising in the ewe trade looking to protect their dominance in mart sales.

Live prices, as a result, have increased anywhere from €10 to €20/head over the last two weeks.

Ewe numbers remain exceptionally tight, with just 2,328 ewes slaughtered last week.

This is some 4,187 head or 64% lower than the corresponding week in 2024.

Lamb throughput has also started 2025 in a tighter manner than in 2024.

Last week’s throughput was recorded at just 31,679 head, equating to a reduction of 19,117 on the corresponding week in 2024.

Lamb quotes have increased by 20c/kg on the week. The two ICM plants are quoting a base of €9/kg plus their 20c/kg QA payment to a higher carcase weight limit of 24kg.

Kildare Chilling is quoting a base of €9.10/kg plus 10c/kg QA.

Reports indicate plants not officially quoting are also all working off a similar opening quote of €9.20/kg for QA lamb.

The upward movement has lifted prices paid to groups and regular sellers to €9.30/kg, with higher prices including conformation bonuses now upwards of €9.40/kg.

Deals at the top end of the market for large batches of lambs have surpassed the €9.50/kg.

Northern trade

Plants in Northern Ireland have failed to lift base quotes, but are paying much higher than the £7/kg to £7.05/kg quoted (€8.40/kg to €8.46/kg).

Regular sellers and groups are easily securing upwards of £7.20/kg (€8.64/kg), while sellers handling large numbers and possessing a number of marketing avenues are securing upwards of £7.40/kg (€8.88/kg) to ward off interest from buyers purchasing sheep for export. Significant numbers continue to be exported to Ireland, Britain and the Netherlands.