Australian Livestock Market Update
Australian Livestock Market Update: Prices and Throughput
Key Points
- Cattle Quality: The quality of cattle, especially across eastern states, has been impacted by hot and dry weather.
- Lamb Quality: Strong quality across heavy and extra heavy lambs has continued.
- Slaughter Rates: Slaughter for both cattle and sheep eased over the week.
Cattle Market
Cattle prices were unable to maintain last week’s levels, resulting in a mixed market. Yardings eased by 1,705 to 51,439 head as the quality of stock declined due to hot and dry conditions.
With fewer heavy cattle coming to market, the Heavy Steer Indicator lifted by 3¢ to 337¢/kg liveweight (lwt). Prices increased in most states, with Queensland seeing an impressive lift of 26¢. However, processor demand for heavyweight-grown cattle was weaker, with both well-finished steers and heifers selling cheaper.
The Dairy Cow Indicator eased by 19¢ to 217¢/kg lwt, with yardings doubling over the past week to 811 head. A substantial number of cows are being offloaded, putting downward pressure on the market. Cows are now being sold 10¢ cheaper, driven by limited processor competition.
Sheep Market
Sheep prices took a downturn this week, except for the Mutton Indicator. Yardings increased by 68,948 to 317,502 head for combined lamb and sheep.
Strong quality across heavy and extra heavy lambs has continued, with the Heavy Lamb Indicator easing 7¢ to 792¢/kg carcase weight (cwt). Meanwhile, the Light Lamb Indicator eased by 45¢ to 671¢/kg cwt, with a greater price spread for lambs weighing under 18kg.
Slaughter
For the week ending 31 January:
- Cattle Slaughter: Eased by 19,136 to 121,772 head, but continues to track 4% above the same time last year. Slaughter decreased in all states, with drops in NSW (4,504 head), Queensland (9,691 head), and Victoria (3,097 head).
- Sheep and Lamb Slaughter: Combined slaughter eased by 116,396 to 597,541 head. Lamb slaughter decreased to 75,538 head, and sheep slaughter decreased to 40,858 head. In NSW, sheep slaughter eased by 16,358 head, Victoria by 14,006 head, and WA by 10,751 head. Lamb slaughter followed a similar trend, with NSW easing by 16,005 to 108,813 head and Victoria easing by 42,311 to 212,761 head.
Attribute content to: Emily Tan, MLA Market Information Analyst
