Base quotes are starting the week at a range of €8.50/kg to €8.70/kg for quality assured lambs, with agents also starting to tie into supplies for the Christmas period.
Base quotes for quality assured lambs for Thursday now range from €8.20/kg to €8.50/kg, with factories looking to try to maintain upward momentum in throughput.
Top prices for lambs have moved to upwards of €8.60/kg, while demand for ewes has intensified, with prices also pushing on by 10c/kg.
Factories are struggling to source supplies to meet demand, with last week’s throughput running over 18,000 lower, despite prices running €1.65/kg higher.
Factories are struggling to keep a lid on prices, with quotes rising by 5c/kg to 10c/kg in recent days.
Last week’s kill was over 21,500 head lower than the corresponding period week in 2023, with over 40,000 fewer sheep slaughtered in the last fortnight compared with 2023.
Pressure on British trade in recent weeks and steady upward momentum in Irish farmgate returns has seen prices climbing ahead of the British price.
Numbers have got even tighter in the last week, but factories are resisting paying €8/kg, with €7.80/kg to €7.90/kg the going rate.
An increasing number of lambs are trading from €7.70/kg to €7.80/kg, with higher prices and extra weight limits being negotiated at the top end of the market.