There has been a positive bounce in the store lamb trade over the last week, with increased demand supporting a price lift of 10c/kg to 20c/kg for certain classes of lambs.
This has opened up a wider differential in prices paid for store lambs, depending on quality.
At the top end of the market, good-quality and well-presented lots are selling from €3.75/kg to €4/kg for lambs weighing from 30kg to 35kg, with prices for select lots topping €4/kg.
Plainer-quality lots are selling back to €3.50/kg to €3.60/kg, with Scottish Blackface lambs selling in the main from €3/kg to €3.20/kg upwards.
Prices for heavier lambs weighing from 38kg to 40kg upwards are averaging in the region of €3.50/kg to €3.80/kg, but, again, some lots are hitting €3.90/kg-plus where buyers get stuck in on certain lots. Poorer-quality lots are selling back to €3.40/kg.
There is no real change in the finished lamb trade. Factory lambs weighing 49kg to 52kg are selling in the main from €177 to €185.
Some top-quality and heavier lambs are selling for a few euro more, while, where butcher and wholesale demand is evident, such lambs are rising to €195 and as high as €200-plus.
There is a wider differential in price for lambs weighing 46kg to 48kg, with quality dictating price and lambs selling from the mid-€160s to upwards of €180 for excellent-quality types.
Cull ewes are firm with a price range of €2.20/kg to €2.50/kg accounting for the lion’s share of top-quality lots.
There are very few lowland ewes with any reasonable cover of flesh selling below €2/kg, while heavier Scottish Blackface ewes are selling from €1.70/kg to upwards of €2/kg, with lighter lots from €1.20/kg to €1.50/kg and back to €1/kg for poorer-quality lots.
Hogget numbers have dropped off sharply over the last fortnight, but there is still demand for good-quality types.
Such lots with quality and potential to grow into a decent size are selling to €250/head, while small-framed lowland hoggets that will struggle to weigh over 70kg are meeting a challenging trade and selling from €150/head upwards.
