Thomas Lyons 
The sheep trade in Ireland has been relatively stable this week, with some sites holding firm on prices while others have reduced their quotes. Ewe prices have seen a lift of 10c/kg at one outlet, but overall, sheep farmers across the country are reporting low crops of lambs.
The poor scanning rate and inclement weather during March and April have both contributed to the low crop of lambs this year. While hogget supplies remain stable, spring lamb supplies are very scarce and are likely to remain so for the next few weeks. Prolonged wet weather had a negative impact on the thrive of many lambs during March and April.
In terms of pricing, Kildare Chilling is quoting €7.20/kg plus a 10c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus for hoggets, bringing its offering to €7.30/kg again this week. This outlet is paying up to 23kg carcass weight. Meanwhile, Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €7.00/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus for hoggets, bringing its offering to €7.20/kg up to 23kg carcass weight. This is a reduction of 10c/kg from last week.
Other outlets are quoting €7.05/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus for hoggets, bringing their price offerings to €7.20/kg up to 23kg carcass weight, up 5c/kg from last week. For spring lambs, Kildare Chilling is quoting €7.90/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus again this week, bringing its price offering to €8.00/kg up to 20kg carcass weight. Meanwhile, ICM is quoting €7.60/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, bringing its offering up to €7.80/kg for 20.5kg carcass weight, a reduction of 20c/kg from last week.
Other outlets are quoting €7.70/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus up to 20.5kg carcass weight, leaving €7.85/kg on the table at these, a reduction of 5c/kg from last week and 25c/kg from two weeks ago. In terms of cull ewes, Kildare Chilling is quoting €3.50/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus up to 40kg carcass weight, leaving €3.60/kg on offer for ewes here.
ICM is quoting €3.30/kg for ewes up to 45kg carcass weight, while other outlets are offering €3.40/kg up to 46kg carcass weight.
