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Demand for slaughter fit lambs is outstripping supply, with official quotes up by 5p to 525p/kg.
However, factory agents are struggling to buy lambs at this level and farmers indicate 530p/kg is widely available, with 535p/kg paid to compete with marts.
At the upper end those offloading large numbers of meal-fed lambs on a weekly arrangement are negotiating deals of 540p/kg to 545p/kg.
In the local marts, numbers have tightened and with improved competition between buying agents, it means slaughter fit lambs are making £117 to £120 with butcher type lots achieving more.
Republic of Ireland (ROI) prices are also strengthening with €6.70/kg commonly paid to 22.5kg, which converts to a sterling equivalent of £123, excluding VAT.
Beef
With beef factories still working through a backlog created by the DAERA strike, quotes have eased to 446p/kg for U-3 grading prime cattle, although prices paid are generally steady with deals of 464p to 472p/kg still on offer for in-spec animals.
Strike
The strike by DAERA vets and meat inspectors earlier this month led to a ten-fold drop in the number of cattle slaughtered in local abattoirs. Official figures published by DAERA show that only 1,143 cattle were slaughtered in NI factories in the week ending 4 November, compared to 11,991 cattle in the previous week. There were no sheep slaughtered at all during the five-day strike by civil servants. In the week before the industrial action, 11,764 sheep were processed in NI. The strike also impacted live exports to ROI. Just 5,807 sheep were exported to the south for direct slaughter, down from 8,800 sheep a week earlier.
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