Sheep prices are solid, with demand reported as strong and factories having good success in filling orders for the Easter trade.

This witnessed agents continuing to source lambs on Wednesday for Thursday’s kill, with plants not slaughtering on Friday.

Quotes are steady to stronger in cases. The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants continue to quote a base of €8.80/kg plus 20c/kg quality assurance payment for hoggets.

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They are joined this week by Dawn Kildare, which increased its quote by 20c/kg to €8.90/kg plus 10c/kg QA payment.

Groups and regular sellers are being paid in the region of €9/kg to €9.10/kg, with top prices rising to €9.20/kg or the equivalent of this when allowances on transport costs are taken into account.

There were some deals completed 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher for larger numbers, but as the week drew a close, agents turned their attention to next week.

The majority of deals are to 23kg carcase weight, although there are sellers with greater negotiating power being paid to 23.5kg carcase weight.

Some agents are trying to condition sellers to weight allowances being potentially reduced again to 23kg. This will depend on numbers in the market, with all forecasts pointing to numbers remaining tight. This is reflected in agents looking to source hoggets for next Tuesday’s kill.

Factories exhibited variable appetite for spring lambs this week. At the top end of the market, prices of upwards of €10/kg are being paid to 21kg carcase weight. Carcase weights range from 20.5kg to 21kg, so sellers should confirm before delivery if in any doubt.

The two ICM plants are quoting a base of €9.80/kg plus 20c/kg QA payment. Dawn Kildare is similar with a quote of €9.90/kg plus 10c/kg QA.

Cull ewes are firm, with the live trade possibly continuing to edge out the dead trade. This is particularly true of heavy carcase ewes, which may be deemed overweight in factories.

There is also significant variation between plants, with quotes varying by as much as 50c/kg and ranging from €5/kg to upwards of €5.50/kg.

Northern Ireland

The trade in Northern Ireland is strong, with buyers continuing to enjoy a firm appetite on three fronts – plants purchasing for slaughter in Northern Ireland, agents purchasing for direct slaughter in Ireland and agents purchasing sheep to export live either for direct slaughter or live sale in Britain.

Base quotes for hoggets have increased by 15p/kg to £8.30/kg (€9.57/kg). Regular sellers are commanding 10p/kg to 15p/kg higher to ward off interest from buyers purchasing for export to Britain and Ireland.

There is a variance of 20p/kg between base quotes, so sellers should study the market to ensure they are getting the maximum return.

Agents exporting to Ireland and Britain are being looked after to secure sales.