Hogget prices have jumped by upwards of €10 to €12 per head in sales held this week, with demand outstripping supply.

Mart managers report that buyer gloves came off, with agents that would normally not compete with each other going head-to-head for limited supplies.

Fleeting reports of hoggets topping the €200 mark in sales held last week became a regular occurrence in many sales this week.

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Good-quality and heavier hoggets weighing upwards of 55kg were selling from €202 to €206 per head earlier in the week, with prices rising to €205 to €215 on Wednesday.

Top prices on occasion for hoggets weighing upwards of 58kg to 60kg hit €220 plus.

The jump in price has also seen a wider differential emerge, rising to upwards of €10 per head for hoggets of a similar weight but of highly differing quality.

For example, hoggets weighing around the 50kg mark sold from the high €180s for crossbred or hill types, with poorer slaughter potential to the high €190s for top-quality lowland lots, and rising to over €200 for top-quality lots.

The rate of increase was such that prices in some sales were rising in bids of €5 to €8, with the trade adjusting to the new higher levels. A price of upwards of €9/kg or generous allowances on carcase weight would be required for some hoggets to have any hope of leaving a margin relative to factory quotes.

The increase in price is also feeding in to more demand and higher prices for store hoggets. There is a significant differential dependent on flesh cover, with agents dropping down in weight for any hoggets suitable for slaughter.

This has seen prices range from €3.70/kg to €4/kg, with prices for certain classes 20c/kg to 30c/kg stronger than the previous week. Plainer-quality types in cases sold back to €3.50/kg, with very few sheep below this mark.

The cull ewe trade has also burst in to life, with top-quality ewes selling from €2.30/kg to €2.70/kg and higher in cases. There are very few crossbred or lowland ewes with an average cover of flesh selling below the €2/kg mark as the week progresses, with fleshed hill ewes from €1.60/kg to €2.10/kg.