Raphoe Mart had an entry of about 100 lambs in its annual Christmas fatstock show and sale on Monday. Manager Ann Harkin said the high quality of lambs on offer sparked strong competition from butchers sourcing lambs for the Christmas trade. The first and second prize winners sold for €175 each, with third prize winners selling for €170 each. Outside of these, prices for show lambs ranged mainly from €110 to €120.

There were close to 800 lambs on offer in the normal sale where butchers, wholesale buyers and factory agents were again active. This, in cases, led to a premium of €3 to €5 or even greater for good-quality lambs.

Lambs weighing 47kg to 55kg sold on average from €105 to €115, while lambs weighing 44kg to 48kg sold from €95 to €105. The average price for lambs weighing 40kg to 45kg ranged from €85 to €95 and, as mentioned above, top-quality lots in this weight bracket rose to and exceeded €100 per head.

Store lambs weighing 36kg to 41kg sold on average from €75 to €85 while lighter lambs weighing 29kg to 36kg sold from €65 to €75 each.

The cull ewe traded has strengthened, with large-framed ewes selling from €90 to €126 and back to €60 for feeding ewes.