Many mart sales held in recent days report an increase in the number of slaughter-fit hoggets on offer.

Managers are suggesting that the lure of potentially higher returns and low initial quotes offered by some factories is driving interest in mart sales.

Heavier hoggets weighing from 53kg to 55kg upwards are trading on average from €208 to €220/head, with the best-quality lots rising to €225 and higher on occasion.

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Lighter lots weighing from 50kg to 53kg are trading from €205 to €215/head in the main, with agents keen to get their hands on higher numbers.

Factory base quotes for Wednesday have increased by 30c/kg on the week previous, but there is still a significant difference between opening offers and those paid to sellers trading at the top end of the market.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants in Camolin and Navan have increased their base quote by 30c/kg since last Thursday and are offering a base of €8.30/kg plus their 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment.

Dawn Kildare is matching this offer with its base of €8.40/kg plus 10c/kg QA payment.

Group payments

This leaves groups working on the basis of an average of quotes plus a payment top-up being offered in the region of €8.60/kg to €8.70/kg, depending on the deal in place and purchasing plant.

Reports indicate producers being offered the lower price have refused to trade sheep at such levels, with some groups being offered returns of upwards of €8.80/kg in a bid to try to secure sales.

Regular sellers and those with keen negotiating power and trading at the top end of the market are being paid €8.80/kg, with some reports also including reference to higher carcase weight limits. However, this is highly variable, with no big movement on carcase weight.

At the top end of the market, there are some deals at €8.90/kg, with factories trying hard to resist sanctioning a payment of €9/kg. A day’s less processing on St Patrick’s Day is giving factories a short reprieve and a longer window to try to source required numbers for Wednesday.

Spring lambs

Dawn Kildare is the first plant to quote for spring lamb. The plant is offering an opening price of €8.70/kg plus its 10c/kg QA payment to a carcase weight payment limit of 20kg. The plant has also added another 10c/kg to its ewe quote.

Ewes with a carcase weight of 35kg to 43.5kg and with an adequate fat cover are being quoted at €4.70/kg plus 10c/kg QA, while ewes at a carcase weight of 25kg to 35kg are being quoted €4.20/kg plus 10c/kg QA. At the top end of the market, ewes are trading at upwards of €5/kg.

Northern Ireland

Quotes also continue to increase, with quotes upwards of £7.60/kg and 10p/kg to 20p/kg extra being paid to regular sellers to ward off interest from buyers purchasing sheep for export to Britain or Ireland.

The live trade continues to edge ahead of the dead trade, with marts also witnessing higher throughput as a result.