Competition for hoggets has stepped up a notch, with agents trying to navigate through a declining supply pool, with numbers also falling in mart sales.
Prices have edged upwards by an average of €2 to €3/head, with higher increases in places.
This is witnessing a growing percentage of heavier hoggets selling from €220 to €230/head, with top-priced lots rising to €232 to €234/head.
Prices for lighter hoggets weighing from 50kg to 52kg range from €212 to €222 on average, with prices falling a few euro either side of this range, depending on quality and potential slaughter performance.
Hoggets weighing from 47kg to 48kg are selling on average from the mid-€190s to €205 to €208/head.
Demand for store types has also firmed, with numbers declining by the week.
Good-quality lowland stores with a cover of flesh are topping the €4/kg mark, with prices rising to €4.20/kg to €4.40/kg for the best-quality lots.
Plainer-quality types are selling back to €3.70/kg, with hill lambs also recording an increase in price and selling anywhere from €3.50/kg to €3.90/kg depending on quality.
The cull ewe trade is firm, with heavy fleshed ewes continuing to trade in the main from €2.40/kg to €2.70/kg, with select lots rising to €3/kg in small numbers.
There are very few ewes selling below a price of €2/kg, with only lighter hill ewes and lowland ewes with very poor flesh cover selling back to €1/kg.
The general run of prices for good-quality ewes with twin lambs at foot is from €280 to €360 per unit.
There are some prices hitting as high as €400-plus for young ewes with strong lambs, but numbers are small.
Likewise, small numbers of aged poorer-quality ewes or ewes with weak lambs are selling back to €200 per unit, with some Scottish Blackface types anywhere from €150 to €270.
Single lamb units are recording a similarly wide price differential. The typical run of good-quality second- and third-crop ewes is from €180 to €250, with select lots of young ewes with strong lambs to €300-plus, with poorer-quality lots back to €120 to €150 for hill types.
Competition for hoggets has stepped up a notch, with agents trying to navigate through a declining supply pool, with numbers also falling in mart sales.
Prices have edged upwards by an average of €2 to €3/head, with higher increases in places.
This is witnessing a growing percentage of heavier hoggets selling from €220 to €230/head, with top-priced lots rising to €232 to €234/head.
Prices for lighter hoggets weighing from 50kg to 52kg range from €212 to €222 on average, with prices falling a few euro either side of this range, depending on quality and potential slaughter performance.
Hoggets weighing from 47kg to 48kg are selling on average from the mid-€190s to €205 to €208/head.
Demand for store types has also firmed, with numbers declining by the week.
Good-quality lowland stores with a cover of flesh are topping the €4/kg mark, with prices rising to €4.20/kg to €4.40/kg for the best-quality lots.
Plainer-quality types are selling back to €3.70/kg, with hill lambs also recording an increase in price and selling anywhere from €3.50/kg to €3.90/kg depending on quality.
The cull ewe trade is firm, with heavy fleshed ewes continuing to trade in the main from €2.40/kg to €2.70/kg, with select lots rising to €3/kg in small numbers.
There are very few ewes selling below a price of €2/kg, with only lighter hill ewes and lowland ewes with very poor flesh cover selling back to €1/kg.
The general run of prices for good-quality ewes with twin lambs at foot is from €280 to €360 per unit.
There are some prices hitting as high as €400-plus for young ewes with strong lambs, but numbers are small.
Likewise, small numbers of aged poorer-quality ewes or ewes with weak lambs are selling back to €200 per unit, with some Scottish Blackface types anywhere from €150 to €270.
Single lamb units are recording a similarly wide price differential. The typical run of good-quality second- and third-crop ewes is from €180 to €250, with select lots of young ewes with strong lambs to €300-plus, with poorer-quality lots back to €120 to €150 for hill types.
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