Sheep Trends: lamb throughput falls again but factories refuse to budge

Lamb throughput has fallen again this past week, with 34,689 sheep slaughtered last week, down 1,954 fewer spring lambs slaughtered.

This remains at odds with factory quotes, which fell by 20c/kg across most factories on Monday, though no midweek slippage has been reported, with factories holding firm on price.

Factories continue to apply downward pressure on prices, with some factory agents notably absent from marts these last few days, with factories happy to deal with smaller numbers rather than increase base quotes or live lamb prices.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) have base quotes of €7.80/kg plus 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment, showing the 20c/kg slippage since last week, as is Ballon Meats’ all-in opening quote of €8/kg.

Kildare Chilling is operating at a base quote of €7.90/kg plus 10c/kg QA, with a carcase limit of 21.5kg.

Producer groups are generally operating off this 20c/kg cut from last week, with €8.10/kg for R grade lambs, with similar paid to regular sellers.

Top prices

Top prices paid are struggling to hit above €8.20/kg, with the factories keen to keep quotes as close to the €8/kg mark as possible.

The number of hoggets fell back to more normal levels this week after a rise last week, with 583 hoggets slaughtered.

The two ICM plants are currently quoting €6.80/kg + 10c/kg QA, while Kildare Chilling is quoting €6/kg + 10c/kg QA.

Cull ewes

Cull ewes remain unchanged to last week’s pricing and were unaffected by spring lamb cuts.

The two ICM plants are offering a quote of €4.50/kg, which is at the lower end of the market, with Kildare Chilling operating from €4.40/kg plus 10c/kg QA for ewes under 35kg to €4.90/kg plus 10c/kg QA for ewes of a high carcase conformation between 35kg and 43kg.

Ballon Meats tops the quotes at €5.20/kg.

Similar to the lamb trade, many farmers are presenting ewes at live sales, with this proving more lucrative for the majority, especially farmers with ewes of a carcase weight above 46kg, as many factories are cutting quotes off at this or lower.

Northern Ireland

Factory agents are also trying to ease prices back further with base quotes for Thursday down 10p/kg and averaging £6.70/kg (€7.79/kg).

Groups and regular sellers continue to secure 10p/kg to 15p/kg above base quotes, with agents handling significant numbers achieving higher returns to allow them to compete in the market with buyers purchasing sheep for exporting to Ireland and Britain remaining active.

The number of sheep exported to Ireland for direct slaughter last week increased by 600 head to 4,263, while reports indicate over 3,000 sheep were exported to Britain.