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Factory protests continue to dominate discussions in the beef and sheep trades.
Protests do not relate to the sheep trade, but sheep farmers in the west of the country remain caught in the crossfire, with entry for sheep prevented at Kepak Athleague and Dawn Ballyhaunis.
The lack of a factory outlet is inserting growing pressure on the trade for slaughter-fit lambs in marts, with agents also curtailed in numbers they can purchase.
A high percentage of suppliers are also small-scale producers that do not readily have the means of switching to supplying processors in the east of the country.
Many, including producer groups, also remain loyal to the plants, but reports surfacing on Wednesday point to groups now giving allowances to their members to explore alternative sales avenues while protests remain in place.
Quotes for Thursday remain unchanged. Kildare Chilling remains top of the quotes table with its base quote of €4.60/kg plus 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus.
The two Irish Country Meats plants are quoting a base of €4.50/kg plus 10c/kg QA bonus. Moyvalley Meats continues to offer an all-in quote of €4.60/kg, with Ballon Meats quoting €4.50/kg.
A high percentage of lambs are trading from individual sellers at a price range of €4.60/kg to €4.65/kg, with top prices rising to €4.70/kg to €4.80/kg or equivalent when producer bonuses and allowances on transport are factored into the price.
There is no change in the ewe trade, with quotes ranging from €2.50/kg to €2.70/kg. Reports show some farmers are securing a 5c/kg to 10c/kg premium in the respective plants depending on their negotiating power.
IFA national sheep chair Sean Dennehy said: “Farmers with finished lambs for sale are very concerned, as they are unable to move lambs or face a challenging mart trade in parts of the country.
“A solution needs to be found to allow farmers sell their lambs without difficultly.”
Northern producers are facing downward price pressure, with factories pulling base quotes 5p/kg to 10p/kg to a base of £3.65/kg. This equates to just €4.10/kg at Wednesday afternoon’s exchange rate of 89.1p to the euro and €4.32/kg when VAT at 5.4% is included.
Top prices reported range from £3.70/kg to £3.75/kg (€4.38/kg to €4.44/kg).
The lower price of northern lambs makes them an attractive supply source, with 10,404 sheep imported south for direct slaughter last week, an increase of 849 head on the previous week.
The latest AHDB report shows British lamb prices easing by an average of 5p/kg, with R2 grading lambs averaging £3.89/kg (€4.60/kg).
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