Hogget quotes up 50-55c/kg in three weeks after latest rises
Quotes for lamb/hogget were up again by 15-25c/kg yesterday as factories continue to scramble to secure adequate numbers, with cull ewes improved by 10c/ kg. Hogget has risen by 50-55c/ kg in three weeks.
Just as significantly, the ICM group have moved up their carcass weight limit to 23.5kg. Dawn Ballyhaunis and Kildare Chilling continue on 23kg; it will be interesting to see if they follow ICM’s lead.
There is an obvious effect of reducing sheep numbers on the trade overall — Department figures show that sheep throughput at the country’s exporting plants is back 4pc on last year.
Dawn and Kildare are on €7.20+10c/kg QA for lamb/hogget, with ICM on €7.00+20c/kg QA. On the cull ewe side, all the major players are on €3.00/kg, with Kildare offering an additional 10c/kg QA.
Away from our price table Kepak Athleague were also stronger yesterday on both quotes
and weight limits.
On the hogget side they quoted €7.10+15c/kg quality assurance while pushing up their carcass weights to match ICM on 23.5kg, while on the cull ewe side they quoted €3.00/kg, with carcasses over 30kg quoted at €3.10/kg.
On the ground a representative of ICSA reported factory prices for hogget as ranging from €7.40-7.60/kg. However, on the mart circuit yesterday the feeling was that bigger finishers were holding out for €7.70/kg for hogget this week.
It is interesting to look at sheepmeat prices in other countries since the start of the year.
While France remains the strongest performer, averaging €8.59/kg on Bord Bia’s price dashboard for the week ending February 3, that average is back 34c/kg since the start of the year.
Spanish prices, which rose from €6.75/kg in early August to a dizzying €9.24/kg in early December, have since tumbled significantly, averaging €8.07/ kg for the week of the 3rd.
By contrast prices in Britain since the start of 2024 have improved by 50c/kg to €7.54/kg, with Northern Ireland up by 56c/ kg to €6.67/kg.
The Irish price is also stronger over the same period but by only 18c/kg to €6.81/kg.
It was notable that the top of the market has come down while the players at the bottom end saw stronger returns.
Britain’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board noted recently that supplies of sheep meat from the southern hemisphere to the Middle East have had to be rerouted away from the Suez Canal to avoid the threat of hijacking or worse in the Red Sea. This has added around 10 days to the travel time.
It would be logical to assume that those attacks have also added considerable delays and extra cost to getting sheep meat from the southern hemisphere into northern Europe and Britain ahead of Ramadan.
In summary, while the factories haven’t lost control of the trade, there were indications yesterday that the cohesion between competing plants is becoming frayed.