ICSA reaction
Speaking about the sheep trade and the cuts in prices, Sean McNamara, the sheep chairperson of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) said: “Completely unjustified.
“It’s an awful pull in prices. Spring lamb prices are back 40-50c/kg and hoggets are back as much as 70c/kg.
“It’s scandalous really and I’d be telling farmers to go the mart and not entertain the factories at all.
“There is still a strong demand there so I can’t understand where these cuts are coming from.
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“What makes matters even worse was the 23t of sheepmeat imported from the UK to one of the Irish plants over the last 24 hours. It’s just ridiculous carry on.”
April 7, 2021, 6:00 am
The sheep trade has once again pushed on this week, with demand very strong as factories look to build supplies for Ramadan which is just around the corner (April 13).
Kildare Chilling is really setting the tone this week, with both its spring lamb and hogget quotes on the rise since last week and the early part of this week.
At the moment, Kildare Chilling is offering a base price of €8.00/kg plus a 10c/kg quality assurance (QA) bonus for spring lambs.
While its quote for hoggets has jumped a substantial 40c/kg from this time last week to €7.40/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus.
‘It’s ‘as you were’ in terms of quotes for hoggets, with factories holding firm, as base quotes, like last week, continue to range from €5.80/kg up to €6.00/kg.
There continues to be strong demand from factories for numbers, with prices for factory hoggets edging upwards on last week at sales held yesterday.
Looking at the prices on offer, out in front with a base price of €6.00/kg + a 10c/kg quality assured (QA) bonus is Kildare Chilling. Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €5.80/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for hoggets.
AgriLand understands that Kepak Athleague is not killing today (Tuesday, February 2) and, therefore, was not quoting.