Summer lamb slaughter surge outdoing spring

It may have taken producers a bit longer to get them there, but it would seem that 2025 has opened with an abundance of slaughter-ready lambs. Lamb throughput has remained in record territory so far this year, with figures more akin to the usual late spring sucker rush than the midst of summer. Sheep slaughter […]
Positive sentiment has herd size on the up?

Confidence in the beef cattle market climbed in line with the market conditions in 2024, and this will push the herd size even higher in 2025. This is according to the latest Beef Producers Intentions Survey taken in November last year and released this month by Meat & Livestock Australia. While the survey is just […]
Middle east demand meets australian supply

It was another record year for Australian sheepmeat exports, despite volumes lagging year-ago levels in the latter half of 2024. Both lamb and mutton finished the year at an all-time high, up 10% and 22% respectively from last year, which was also the previous record for both, and meant Australia exported more sheepmeat in a […]
Record exports buoyed by big US appetite

Australian beef export volumes reached new highs in 2024 and are set to continue climbing in 2025. Our domestic beef herd reached maturation last year, driving up slaughter and moving us into the destocking stage of the cycle, with the female slaughter rate averaging 51% for the first three quarters of the year. This lift […]
Plenty left in the price tanks for lambs in 2025?

Producers that have fat lambs in the paddock, or who have feed that will grow in the summer after December rainfall, will be heading into the festive season with some pep in their step. The heavy and trade lamb market has been on the rise of late, pushing prices to the second strongest levels on […]
Beef exports set to break decade-long record

Australian beef exports are still rocketing towards record territory as both supply and demand align. There were just shy of 119,000 tonnes of beef sent offshore in November, which was down slightly from the record-high monthly volume exported in October, but still within the top 10 highest monthly volumes recorded, and nearly 30% above the […]
Lamb forecast fits with future figures

Despite record-high slaughter figures for lamb so far this year, there are plenty of lambs left in the paddock according to the latest Sheep Producers Intentions Survey. The tri-annual look at industry sentiment and plans for the future conducted by Meat & Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation had its largest response rate this time […]
Market moves focus as we wait for the weather

With substantial rainfall on the radar and the holiday season right around the corner, the focus of the cattle market has swung away from finished cattle and towards feeders and restockers. Slaughter numbers are still very strong, but yardings backed off a bit week-on-week as some producers no doubt thought they’d wait a week to […]
Big turnoff not a turnoff for beef

The latest data release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on livestock products has shown that our beef cattle herd is well and truly into destocking mode. Figures lifted across the board, with slaughter now outpacing the rapid turnoff caused by seasonal conditions in 2018-19, and the female slaughter rate (FSR) has now been at […]
Heavy lambs red hot as season hinders supply

Heavy lambs are in hot demand as producers and processors struggle to find enough supply to keep up with the strong export trade. In the first two weeks of November, the National Heavy Lamb Indicator weekly average was sitting at its second strongest level on record for spring, only being eclipsed by the sky-high prices […]
Will the US have beef with the beef trade?

Donald Trump will soon be back in the White House, and while we won’t know until the new year the extent and timeline of his campaign claims being actioned, his proposed trade policy changes are front of mind for Australia’s agriculture industry. The US is Australia’s largest export market for beef at the moment, taking […]
EYCI’s big discount means plenty of room to move

The correlation between the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) and the 90CL US export beef price is primarily driven by our domestic supply and can give us some insight into the ebb and flow of Australian beef prices. While lower US production is also currently playing a role, few comparisons can better highlight the volatility […]