There is no change in this week’s sheep trade, with live and dead prices steady.

Base quotes in Dawn Kildare continue at a base of €7.90/kg plus the plant's 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment, while Ballon Meats is operating in the region of €8.20/kg all in and O’Flynn Meats is working from an opening price of €8.30/kg all in.

The latter quotes are for good-quality well-fleshed lambs, with carcase weight limits ranging from 22.5kg to 23kg.

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Prices paid to most producer groups are in the region of €8.20/kg for R grading lambs. A number of groups are being paid to €8.30/kg where there is a higher payment programme in place or for U grading lambs.

Reports indicate that demand is finely balanced with supply.

Some factories are operating at a higher capacity on Monday and Tuesday in light of planned strike action, with others optioning to handle higher numbers towards the end of the week to keep throughput on an even keel.

Ewe trade

Significant variation remains between ewe quotes. At the lower end of the market, plants are quoting a ewe price of €4.30/kg to €4.50/kg, with top prices in such plants ranging from €4.50/kg to €4.70/kg, while higher prices on offer in plants or abattoirs including Ballon Meats and O’Flynn Meats are in the region of €5/kg.

Live trade snapshot

Mart sales are unchanged, with plants with a vibrant butcher or wholesale trade continuing to trend ahead of equivalent factory deadweight quotes.

Lambs weighing 50kg to 53kg sold from €183 to €198 on average in Athenry Mart, with some excellent-quality and heavier lambs selling to €210 and over on occasion.

It was a similar trend in Kilkenny Mart, with auctioneer George Candler reporting top prices for lambs weighing from 52kg to 61kg exceeding the €200/head mark and selling to a top of €220 for a batch of 10 excellent-quality lambs weighing 57kg.

Lighter and lesser-quality lambs weighing 48kg to 52kg sold anywhere from €180 to €196/head.