Mart managers are reporting more variability in hogget prices over the last week. The variability is stemming from more variation in quality rather than any marked change in the trade.
Mart managers are reporting more variability in hogget prices over the last week.
The variability is stemming from more variation in quality rather than any marked change in the trade.
Top-quality and well-grown lowland hoggets are trading in normal sales from €230 to €280, with a selection of excellent-quality types rising to and exceeding €300/head.
Lighter good-quality crossbred types are trading from €200 to €250, with the highest-quality lots topping this.
Plainer-quality types are selling back under €200, with small-framed hoggets selling back to €170 and under.
Smaller-framed Scottish Blackface ewes are selling from €120 to €160, while heavier Lanark and Perth-type sheep are selling upwards of €200 for the highest quality lots, but numbers entered are low to date.
The lamb trade is steady and mart managers again report significant variation in quality.
The best-quality lowland lambs attracting butcher buyer attention are trading upwards of €165 to €170/head, while the general run of lambs weighing 50kg to 52kg ranges from €158 to €166 for well-fleshed lots, easing back to the mid-€150s and lower for lambs lacking flesh or crossbred lots with poorer slaughter potential.
Likewise, lambs weighing 46kg to 48kg are selling anywhere from the low- to mid-€140s for poorer-quality types to the mid- to high-€150s for lambs with good slaughter potential.
The trade for store lambs is steady, but, with higher numbers on offer, well-presented and evenly matched batches are attracting the keenest demand.
A high percentage of store lambs are trading from €2.90/kg to €3.20/kg for good-quality lowland lambs, with prices for select lots rising as high as €3.30/kg to €3.40/kg-plus.
Crossbred types are trading from €2.80/kg to €3/kg for better-quality lots and back to €2.50/kg. Hill types are trading from €2/kg for very light lambs to €2.40/kg to €2.50/kg for heavier lots.
The cull ewe trade is steady to easier in places. Top-quality ewes are still capable of topping €2/kg, with medium-sized ewes with an average cover of flesh from €1.50/kg to €1.80/kg.
Scottish Blackface ewes are selling from 80c/kg to €1/kg for ewes lacking flesh to €1.30/kg to €1.50/kg for heavier carcase lots.
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