There has been significant variation in the lamb trade over the last week.

A number of plants moved to reduce base quotes by 20c/kg to 30c/kg over the weekend, bringing opening prices for quality assured lambs in the region of €8.20/kg.

In contrast, other plants held their opening quote at €8.30/kg.

The plants which moved to reduce prices over the weekend have held their quotes steady since.

Reports indicate that the plants who held a steady quote have since moved to reduce prices offered by 10c/kg to 20c/kg, bringing prices back in line with their competitors. The end result is prices 20c/kg to 30c/kg lower week on week.

The two Irish Country Meats plants are quoting a base of €8/kg, down 30c/kg on the week, plus their 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment, while Ballon Meats is also back 20c/kg with an all-in quote of €8.30/kg.

Plants not quoting are reported as offering a base of €8.05/kg to €8.10/kg, leaving QA lambs at €8.20/kg.

Producer groups have seen 10c/kg to 15c/kg knocked off prices since the start of the week, with prices for Thursday in the region of €8.30/kg and rising to €8.35/kg to €8.45/kg where conformation bonuses are included.

There was talk earlier in the week of factories planning to reduce quotes further, but tight supplies appear to have curtailed movement for now.

This is reflected in mart sales, where entries are particularly small for the time of year, and in the sheep kill falling back to just 47,048 head.

This includes 37,163 lambs, 5,210 hoggets and 4,679 ewes and rams.

While factories would like at this stage to be moving away from hoggets, they are helping to boost throughput and dilute operating costs. The two ICM plants are offering a base price of €7/kg plus 20c/kg QA for suitable types.

The ewe trade seems to be steadier following recent moves to pull prices by 10c/kg to 20c/kg.

The majority of plants are quoting €3.90/kg to €4/kg for good-quality ewes weighing in excess of 30kg to 35kg. Plants or abattoirs specialising in the ewe trade are still paying anywhere from €4.20/kg to upwards of €4.40/kg for good-quality ewes.

Northern trade

Base quotes in factories in NI are unchanged at £6.70/kg or the equivalent of €7.87/kg. Groups and regular sellers are securing 10p/kg to 20p/kg higher, while prices reported at the top end of the market are in the region of £7/kg, with a firm live trade continuing to provide producers with an alternative outlet.

The number of sheep exported south for direct slaughter was recorded at 4,930, up about 280 head on the previous week. The latest AHDB market report shows lamb prices falling by 30p/kg to average £7.80/kg (€9.16/kg), while hogget prices fell 42p/kg and are averaging £6.88/kg (€8.08/kg).