Demand for sheep for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha has failed to live up to the highs of recent years, with fewer than 50,000 sheep slaughtered last week.
This was an increase of almost 10,000 head on the previous week’s throughput but was nowhere near the levels of throughput recorded in 2021 to 2023, when upwards of 70,000 sheep were handled in the week leading up to the festival.
Reports indicate the number of sheep exported live was also far lower than recent years, with exports impeded by stricter movement restrictions relating to Brucella ovis.
Pressure remains to find a solution to these constraints, with the live export trade an important market towards the end of 2024.
Many farmers were hoping the festival would deliver a demand boost and help get higher numbers out of the system and be in a better opportunity to sustain prices. This has not materialised and quotes have been hit with another significant cut. Lamb quotes for Thursday are down 20c/kg on the week with opening prices for quality assured (QA) lambs quoted in the region of €8.80/kg.
Hogget quotes are unchanged in the main in the region of €7/kg or €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg for QA sheep. Factories have, however, become more discerning on age and weight with heavy price penalties being imposed on hoggets deemed out of spec.
The cull ewe trade which was vibrant for most of spring has also come under pressure with quotes falling by 50c/kg or upwards of €20 per head on a 40kg carcase in the space of two weeks.
Demand for sheep for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha has failed to live up to the highs of recent years, with fewer than 50,000 sheep slaughtered last week.
This was an increase of almost 10,000 head on the previous week’s throughput but was nowhere near the levels of throughput recorded in 2021 to 2023, when upwards of 70,000 sheep were handled in the week leading up to the festival.
Reports indicate the number of sheep exported live was also far lower than recent years, with exports impeded by stricter movement restrictions relating to Brucella ovis.
Pressure remains to find a solution to these constraints, with the live export trade an important market towards the end of 2024.
Many farmers were hoping the festival would deliver a demand boost and help get higher numbers out of the system and be in a better opportunity to sustain prices. This has not materialised and quotes have been hit with another significant cut. Lamb quotes for Thursday are down 20c/kg on the week with opening prices for quality assured (QA) lambs quoted in the region of €8.80/kg.
Hogget quotes are unchanged in the main in the region of €7/kg or €7.20/kg to €7.30/kg for QA sheep. Factories have, however, become more discerning on age and weight with heavy price penalties being imposed on hoggets deemed out of spec.
The cull ewe trade which was vibrant for most of spring has also come under pressure with quotes falling by 50c/kg or upwards of €20 per head on a 40kg carcase in the space of two weeks.
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