Hogget fetching up to €8.50/kg on the ground after latest lift

Factory quotes for hogget rose another 15-30c/kg yesterday, bringing the cumulative increase since the end of January to €1.20-1.25/kg.

Dawn Ballyhaunis and Kildare Chilling lead the way on €8.00+10c/kg quality assurance — up 30c/kg on last week. The two ICM plants increased 15c/kg to €7.85+20c/ kg.

The ICMs, though, are out in front when it comes to cull ewes, quoting €3.40/kg.

On the ground, the IFA yesterday reported that hogget was trading from €8.30-8.50/ kg, but ICSA president Sean McNamara said it was generally fetching €8.10-8.35/kg.

Off the official price table Kepak Athleague were quoting €8.05/+15c/kg quality assurance for hogget yesterday and €3.50/kg for hogget up to 30kg, with an additional 10c/ kg on offer for those over that weight.

The IFA and other sources said €3.30-3.70/kg was actually being paid for culls.

With Ramadan under way, the focus of the sheep trade will shift gradually over the next few weeks to Easter Sunday on March 31 and then the important Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and starts on April 9 this year.

Factory reps remain reluctant to give any indication on where they feel prices may go, particularly for new-season lamb, which traditionally takes centre stage at Easter.

My enquiries on the matter met yesterday with two distinct approaches.

The first was the traditional factory line that sheep meat is too dear and “shoppers will be turned off lamb by the time Easter comes if they haven’t been already” by the price.

My next interviewee was more circumspect. He predicted “prices for hogget will level off” but “this year’s lambs will still get a premium but not to the same level as before”.

Will prices remain relatively stable?

“At present the tide is running for the farmer, and it’ll probably stay that way for a while,” he said. “They may be a few bumps in the road — 1520c/kg one way or the other — but at this level that’s nothing.”

He would not be drawn on how long “a while” was.

Mr McNamara was more forthcoming, claiming that numbers of lambs will remain tight until at least the middle of June.

Bord Bia report: “The total sheep kill in DAFM-approved plants for the week ending February 25 was 44,564 head, taking throughput for the year to date to 392,850.

“This is just over 26,000 head behind the 419,047 sheep processed in the same period last year.

“The hogget kill for the year has totalled 352,083 head, back 4.5pc or 17,000 head from 2023 levels.

“Meanwhile the ewe/ram kill was back by 10,000 head (down 20pc) to 40,748.

“With the spring lamb kill for 2023 ending the year notably lower than the previous year, there is an expectation that an additional 40,000 lambs have been carried into 2024 for processing as hoggets.

“Reports from the plants have indicated that hoggets being presented for slaughter are generally of decent quality.

“Southern Hemisphere prices remain well below European prices, which makes Southern Hemisphere product very competitive on EU markets, even with the extra costs of transport factored in.”

“The tide is running for the farmer, and it will probably stay that way for a while”