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There is renewed life in the sheep trade this week with lamb prices rising by 30p/kg to 390p/kg.
The price increase has been driven by a major tightening in the availability of factory fit lambs, leaving factory agents anxious to secure numbers.
With 390p/kg payable to 21kg, it makes a lamb worth £81.90.
But with farmers in a strong position to negotiate on price, some specialist finishers and producer groups indicate that 400p/kg is on offer at the top end of the market for 21kg lambs.
Meanwhile, local processing plants have increased the carcase weight limit to 22kg in an effort to encourage farmers to offload more lambs to them.
Ireland
Supplies of finished lambs south of the border are also extremely limited and the main export plants have responded with further increases of 5c to 10c/kg in base quotes this week.
Prices on offer at Irish plants are typically around the €4.80/kg to €4.90/kg mark for producer groups, which convert to a sterling equivalent of 390p to 400p/kg. Reports from Britain put prices from 390p to 420p/kg. Increased processing demand at Irish plants has filtered through to local marts with mart managers reporting prices of £85 to £92 for top quality lambs earlier this week.
Beef
The beef trade also has upward momentum, with base quotes up 6p/kg on last week to 326p/kg. However, price deals on offer are running well ahead of factory quotes with 330p/kg widely available on steers this week.
Deals for prime heifers range from 334p to 344p/kg, depending on the numbers being offered, with factories particularly keen for animals between 280kg and 360kg. With the balance of power shifting towards farmers, the Ulster Farmers Union has encouraged those with cattle to sell to negotiate for higher prices.
“We urge farmers to negotiate on beef price and not be afraid to challenge what processors are offering. The beef base price is aggressively below the three-and five-year average, but live markets have become stronger in recent weeks and there is a strong demand for beef cattle. Farmers need to look at all options for increasing revenue” said UFU beef and lamb chairman Sam Chesney.
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