This spring-to-summer period has driven a significant improvement on the confidence front when we compare it to last year. With exports humming, capacity built and rainfall reaching cattle country in the early parts of the wet season, restockers have been driving the market upward at the conclusion of 2024.
NSW saleyard reports best demonstrated the
confidence in the current market. Lighter cattle didn’t faze the restockers in
Dubbo and competition was fierce across all categories in Wagga. Restockers
continue to push indicators higher with restocker heifers improving 10¢ to 309¢/kg
lwt and restocker steers rising 8¢ to 390¢/kg lwt. Yearling steers bought by
feeders averaged a 9¢ improvement to 369¢/kg lwt. The result was the Eastern
Young Cattle Indicator (685¢/kg cwt finishing this week just 1¢ below the high
tide mark for this year.
With a bit of help from a stumbling Aussie
dollar, 90CL export beef prices eclipsed the AUD$10/kg mark last week. This new
high tide mark was spurred on by the need to get orders in before Christmas
shutdown but it’s a significant milestone, nonetheless. The national processor cow indicator rose 10¢
to 277/kg lwt this week.
This week on Mecardo, Jamie-Lee Oldfield
did a wrap of the beef export markets. Strong
slaughter and demand continue to drive Australian beef export volumes towards a
record year (read
more here). Whilst the US and Japan have been importing growing volumes,
China has lagged behind this year for importing Australian beef, with volumes
10% lower than 2023 and 7% below the 5-year average. Brazilian beef has been
the focus for China throughout 2024, but with elevated cattle prices in Brazil
putting pressure on the Brazilian processing sector and reports of a temporary
shutdown of 11 domestic processing plants, this could pave the way for more
Australian beef heading to China in early 2025.
Next week
Saleyard shutdowns are beginning for the Christmas period and next week will see the last sales for the year.
If this week’s market is anything to go by, demand will be strong for quality young cattle from restockers as supply tightens up.
Plenty is happening in the beef market as production begins to ramp up. Whilst saleyard prices this week effectively tracked sideways there looks to be
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90CL beef cracks AUD $10/kg
NSW saleyard reports best demonstrated the confidence in the current market. Lighter cattle didn’t faze the restockers in Dubbo and competition was fierce across all categories in Wagga. Restockers continue to push indicators higher with restocker heifers improving 10¢ to 309¢/kg lwt and restocker steers rising 8¢ to 390¢/kg lwt. Yearling steers bought by feeders averaged a 9¢ improvement to 369¢/kg lwt. The result was the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (685¢/kg cwt finishing this week just 1¢ below the high tide mark for this year.
With a bit of help from a stumbling Aussie dollar, 90CL export beef prices eclipsed the AUD$10/kg mark last week. This new high tide mark was spurred on by the need to get orders in before Christmas shutdown but it’s a significant milestone, nonetheless. The national processor cow indicator rose 10¢ to 277/kg lwt this week.
This week on Mecardo, Jamie-Lee Oldfield did a wrap of the beef export markets. Strong slaughter and demand continue to drive Australian beef export volumes towards a record year (read more here). Whilst the US and Japan have been importing growing volumes, China has lagged behind this year for importing Australian beef, with volumes 10% lower than 2023 and 7% below the 5-year average. Brazilian beef has been the focus for China throughout 2024, but with elevated cattle prices in Brazil putting pressure on the Brazilian processing sector and reports of a temporary shutdown of 11 domestic processing plants, this could pave the way for more Australian beef heading to China in early 2025.
Next week
Saleyard shutdowns are beginning for the Christmas period and next week will see the last sales for the year. If this week’s market is anything to go by, demand will be strong for quality young cattle from restockers as supply tightens up.
Have any questions or comments?
Click on graph to expand
Data sources: MLA, Argus, Mecardo
Categories
Have any questions or comments?
Are things about to ramp up?
Plenty is happening in the beef market as production begins to ramp up. Whilst saleyard prices this week effectively tracked sideways there looks to be
Rebuild ready despite high herd
Producer sentiment has lifted to its highest point in the beef industry since Meat & Livestock Australia began using a national survey to gauge the
Buyers want beef not cattle
The cattle market was mixed this week as a cooler change (and no public holiday) saw numbers flood back to saleyards. National indicators show that
Beef outlook strong, cattle another question
A quick review of data coming out of the US comes with the conclusion that extreme global beef demand isn’t going anywhere for some time.
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Independent analysis and outlook for wool, livestock and grain markets delivered to you as it’s published
Listen to the podcast
Join the Mecardo team for the Commodity Conversations podcast, where we provide short weekly market recaps and longer conversations with guests to discuss the drivers and trends in livestock, grain and fibre markets.
MEET THE TEAM
Our team of market analysts are recognised as leaders in Australian Ag market analysis, providing invaluable insights to help you navigate the ever-changing commodity landscape.
SERVICES AND CAPABILITIES STATEMENT BROCHURE
We don’t just bring you the most up to date market insights. Find out more about Mecardo’s services including risk management advisory, modelling, benchmarking, research & consultancy.