Many mart managers and particularly those in sheep farming strongholds report sale entries running significantly lower than in recent years. Entries are dominated by store lambs, with numbers of finished lambs especially tight.

There are plenty of buyers present for stores, with demand in some sales outstripping supply.

The general run of prices for good-quality lowland lambs is in the region of €3.50/kg to €3.75/kg for lambs weighing 36kg to 40kg-plus.

Select lots of excellent-quality types are rising to €3.90/kg to €4/kg, including ewe lambs with breeding potential.

Lighter lots are averaging in the region of €3.70/kg, with prices ranging from €3.30/kg to €3.50/kg for smaller-framed lambs with less potential to upwards of €3.80/kg to €3.90/kg for well-presented lots.

Managers comment that presentation is a big say on price and are advising to group stores on type and gender.

Finished lamb prices are unchanged in the main, despite agents showing a greater appetite for finished lambs.

The general run of prices for factory-type lambs weighing 48kg to 50kg is in the region of €170 to €176, with lambs attracting butcher-buyer interest rising to €180 to €185 and higher on occasion.

There are also buyers looking for heavier ewe lambs, with some preempting strong hogget prices and looking to ewe lambs as an alternative.

Tullow Mart held its opening brood ewe sale in conjunction with its weekly lamb sale on Tuesday.

The entry of about 25 lots met keen demand, with good-quality Suffolk-Cheviot-cross hoggets selling from €300 to a top of €340. Smaller-framed hoggets which still exhibited good breeding potential sold from €260 to €290, while a small entry of light continental-bred sheep sold back to €200/head.

Cull ewe entries are also small. The general run of prices for quality ewes ranged from €2.40/kg to €2.70/kg with top prices rising to €2.90/kg-plus.

Ewes lacking flesh are trading back to €1.90/kg to €2/kg for lowland types, while hill ewes are from €1/kg for €1.30/kg for light ewes and to €1.50/kg to €1.75/kg for heavier ewes.