There’s still life in the hogget trade

TRADE for spring lambs has held up well this week in the aftermath of the Easter demand push, but the seasonal slippage of hogget prices continued.

The lamb prices are steady at 498-510 cents/kg (178p-182p/lb), showing no change from last week, as supplies continued to increase slowly.

The hogget trade was expected to be hit more severely by the ending of the retention last week, with large supplies expected to com on the market, but this did not materialise. Nevertheless, the combination of emphasis on spring lambs and some increase in hogget numbers has been sufficient to slightly weaken the trade. But the base prices are still firm at 378-392 cents/kg (135p-142p/lb), with the higher prices going for the better quality lots.