Base lamb quotes for Thursday have been cut by 10c/kg to 20c/kg on last week’s level.

The two Irish Country Meats (ICM) plants in Camolin and Navan have reduced their base quote by 10c/kg to €8.40/kg plus the plants’ 20c/kg quality assurance (QA) payment.

Ballon Meats has reduced its all-in quote by 20c/kg to €8.40/kg.

There are no other plants officially quoting, but reports indicate some have cut their base quote by 20c/kg to an opening price of €8.50/kg for QA lambs.

The cuts leave producer groups and regular sellers trading in the region of €8.70/kg, with those trading at the top of the market and lambs securing conformation bonuses rising to €8.80/kg.

Carcase weight limits remain at 21kg despite some groups pushing for upward movement in weight.

This week’s cuts occur despite numbers remaining tight.

Last week’s kill fell by about 900 head to 38,615 sheep. This is a reduction of 5,407 on the corresponding week in 2024.

The differences recorded are in the lamb kill, with throughput of 32,443 head running 5,049 lower.

Ewe throughput of 3,768 head is running 287 lower than the corresponding week in 2024, with hogget throughput of 2,404 head steady.

Hogget quotes are also steady, with factories opening negotiations for QA sheep at €7.20/kg.

Producers are securing €7.30/kg for numbers, while at the top end of the market, feeders handling significant numbers are negotiating €7.40/kg to €7.50/kg for hoggets satisfying desired specs.

Hoggets deemed overweight continue to be subject to price penalties rising to 80c/kg to €1/kg, with both overweight and hoggets which have set teeth priced at or close to ewe price.

Ewe trade

Ewe quotes also remain unchanged, with significant variation between plants.

At the lower end of the market, a price of €4.50/kg is being offered, with scope to push this towards €4.70/kg.

Factories with more interest in ewes are paying up to €5/kg, while at the top end of the market, plants or abattoirs active in the ewe trade are paying to €5.20/kg and higher for choice lots.

Northern trade

Plants in Northern Ireland have pulled quotes by 20p/kg, with base quotes for Thursday in the region of £6.90/kg. This equates to €7.97/kg to €8.08/kg at Wednesday afternoon’s stronger sterling to euro exchange rate of 86.5p.

Regular sellers and groups are securing returns of upwards of £7/kg (€8.08/kg).

The number of sheep exported to Ireland for direct slaughter increased by 700 head to 2,616, while exports to Britain for direct slaughter were steady at 2,783 head.

The AHDB reports lamb prices steady at an average of £7.48/kg (€8.64/kg), while the average price reported for hoggets is in the region of £6.37/kg.