The sheep trade in Northern Ireland this week has seen lamb prices strengthen similar to what has been seen down south this past week. Factory quotes for lambs strengthened this week, ranging from 495p/kg up to 500p/kg up to a carcass weight of 21kg, with similar quotes expected for early next week, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).

Meanwhile, lamb throughput last week tallied 8,718 head - which was back 1,421 head from the previous week.

The LMC said that this is significantly lower when compared to the corresponding week in 2020 when 10,960 lambs were processed.

Looking at what lambs made the trip down south, lamb exports to Republic of Ireland for direct slaughter last week came to 7,536 head - up 204 from the previous week.

While, the NI average deadweight lamb price last week was up 3.8p/kg to stand at 480.1p/kg.

Mart sheep trade

Looking at mart trade in NI this past week, many marts reported fewer lambs passing through the sales rings, according to the LMC.

Last Monday (October 11), in Massereene, 803 lambs sold for 440-466p/kg compared to 903 lambs selling for 440-480p/kg last week.

While in Rathfriland on Tuesday (October 12), 677 lambs sold for 440-528p/kg compared to 1,046 lambs that made from 444p/kg up to 525p/kg the previous week. In terms of the cull ewe trade, top reported prices for culled ewes ranged from £132/head up to €174/head across the marts this week, the LMC added.
SHEEP TRADE