Agriculture

Irish factory lamb quotes hold firm, running 40c/kg above last year

Most Irish processors opened the week with unchanged lamb and cull ewe quotes, leaving factory lamb offers between €8.00/kg and €8.30/kg and cull ewe quotes between €4.00/kg and €5.00/kg.

Dawit BekeleOctober 19, 20265 min read10 views

A lamb and a cull ewe stand in a green pasture, with an abstract processing facility in the background, illustrating the week's factory sheep trade.

Factory lamb and cull ewe price offers in Ireland remained firm at the start of the week, with most outlets quoting the same prices as last week and no change to lamb carcass-weight limits. The offers were reported on Monday, October 19.

Current lamb price offers are running about 40c/kg ahead of the same time last year, when higher prices had slipped by 10c/kg ahead of the 2025 October Bank Holiday weekend, according to the trade report.

Processor quotes

  • Kepak quoted €7.85/kg for lambs plus a 15c/kg Quality Assurance bonus, leaving €8.00/kg on offer up to 22.5kg carcass weight. Its Athleague, Co. Roscommon, site quoted €4.00/kg for cull ewes.
  • Irish Country Meats quoted €7.90/kg for lambs plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, leaving €8.10/kg on offer up to 22.5kg carcass weight. Its Navan, Co. Meath, and Camolin, Co. Wexford, outlets quoted €4.30/kg for cull ewes.
  • O’Flynn Meats in Co. Waterford quoted €5.00/kg for cull ewes and €8.30/kg for lambs up to 23kg carcass weight.
  • Kildare Chilling (Dawn Meats Kildare) quoted €7.90/kg for lambs plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, leaving €8.10/kg on offer up to 22.5kg carcass weight. It quoted €4.50/kg for cull ewes from 35-45kg carcass weight.
  • Ballon Meats in Co. Carlow quoted €8.20/kg for lambs up to 23kg carcass weight. It quoted €4.80/kg for cull ewes.
  • Dawn Meats in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, quoted €7.90/kg for lambs plus a 20c/kg QA bonus, leaving €8.10/kg on offer up to 22.5kg carcass weight. It quoted €4.50/kg for cull ewes over 35kg.

Across the outlets listed, factory lamb quotes therefore range from €8.00/kg at Kepak to €8.30/kg at O’Flynn Meats, with ICM, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis at €8.10/kg and Ballon Meats at €8.20/kg. The upper carcass-weight limits are 22.5kg at Kepak, ICM, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis, and 23kg at O’Flynn Meats and Ballon Meats.

Cull ewe quotes range from €4.00/kg at Kepak’s Athleague site to €5.00/kg at O’Flynn Meats. ICM’s Navan and Camolin outlets quoted €4.30/kg, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis quoted €4.50/kg, and Ballon Meats quoted €4.80/kg. Kildare Chilling’s cull ewe quote applies to 35-45kg carcass weight, while Dawn Meats Ballyhaunis quoted for cull ewes over 35kg.

The report said both factory lamb price offers and cull ewe factory price offers remained firm, with no change in lamb carcass-weight limits at most outlets.