Aussie Lamb Market Surges to New Records, Cattle Steady
Weekly Livestock Market Wrap: Lamb Prices Hit Record Highs, Cattle Market Stable
Australia – 13 June 2025 – The Australian livestock market saw a significant week, with lamb prices reaching unprecedented levels, particularly for processor-ready animals, while the cattle market maintained its stability. Despite reduced winter supply impacting lamb numbers, overall cattle slaughter figures remained robust.
Cattle Market Overview
The cattle market demonstrated consistent performance this past week. Yardings, the number of animals presented at sale yards, eased by 24% to 56,797 head. This reduction was primarily attributed to recent rainfall and the impact of a long weekend on some sales.
The Heavy Steer Indicator emerged as the strongest performer in the cattle sector, rising 6¢ to 361¢/kg live weight (lwt). Demand from Victoria notably drove state-level heavy steer prices higher, pushing the average to 408¢/kg lwt. Other cattle indicators experienced slight week-on-week declines, with restocker heifers, for instance, unable to sustain their previous week’s strong prices, easing 11¢ to 319¢/kg lwt.
Sheep and Lamb Market Soars
The sheep and lamb market remained robust, benefiting from reduced supply as winter progresses. Lamb yardings saw a 38% reduction to 132,105 head, while sheep yardings eased by 42% to 59,637 head. Similar to cattle, these lower yarding figures were influenced by rainfall and a shorter operational week.
Despite the reduced numbers, the market was exceptionally strong, setting new records across all three finished lamb price categories. For the first time ever, the Trade Lamb Indicator surpassed 1,000¢/kg carcass weight (cwt), concluding the week at 1,050¢/kg cwt. This price point saw trade lambs outprice the Heavy Lamb Indicator, which, while remaining strong, finished at 1,042¢/kg cwt. Light lambs also saw a lift, reaching 928¢/kg cwt.
Major sales contributed significantly to the market’s strength. Wagga sales experienced a lift in both yardings and prices, driven by an increased supply of fed lambs. Notably, a pen of crossbreds weighing just under 40kg set a new record, selling for $424/head. Yass also saw the initial arrivals of new-season lambs.
Slaughter Statistics (Week Ending 6 June 2025)
Cattle Slaughter: Cattle slaughter numbers held stable week-on-week, with a total of 152,530 head processed nationally. A slight 5% increase in New South Wales processing counteracted a shorter processing week in Western Australia. National figures remained within 570 head of the previous week, maintaining a strong year-on-year position, now 10% above 2024 levels.
- NSW: down 5% to 36,340
- Queensland: down 1% to 79,652
- SA: down 1% to 3,766
- Tasmania: down 1% to 5,215
- Victoria: down 3% to 25,534
- WA: down 22% to 2,023
Sheep and Lamb Slaughter: Lamb slaughter remained stable, showing a minimal increase of less than 1% despite the short processing week in Western Australia. Increases across South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales offset declines in other states, leading to a total of 461,658 head processed. Sheep slaughter also saw a minor lift of less than 1,000 head, reaching 177,918. Combined slaughter for sheep and lamb was minimally affected, totalling 639,576 head.
- NSW: down 3% to 113,155
- Queensland: down 3% to 1,493
- SA: down 7% to 58,276
- Tasmania: down 4% to 9,543
- Victoria: down 4% to 230,588
- WA: down 23% to 48,603
This market wrap is based on insights provided by Erin Lukey, MLA Senior Market Information Analyst.
Original source: MLA
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