Lambs back to 600¢/kg mark
The positivity in the sheep and lamb market has continued to pick up this week, yet to be slowed by the upcoming festive season break in trading. Rising prices were also unhindered by the significant jump in throughput this week, as producers took the opportunity to capitalise on improved sentiment and get stock off before […]
Onwards and upwards after price push?
Predicting what the cattle market has in store for 2024 is a much more positive experience than it would have been a month ago. But that said, it might be now even tougher to predict how the market will progress in the new year, with the downward spiral that has been cattle prices reverting to […]
Queensland buyers boost market further
While the old adage “It doesn’t rain grass” comes to mind this week, especially given we have now hit the first day of summer. However, it does quite often rain confidence, and it would seem the recent falls across the east have done just that for the cattle market, with most categories headed in a […]
Lamb turnoff takes precedence
Sheep slaughter for the September 2023 quarter rose year-on-year but dropped in comparison to the previous quarter, the first time this has occurred since 2016. These figures come from the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics quarterly livestock data drop, released last week, and they show us that while lambs are breaking records, sheep slaughter is […]
Lambs are looking up
Rainfall in the east – whether it actually fell or is still forecast to come – continued to support sheep and lamb prices this week, with all categories on the rise. The west didn’t get the rain, or even the promise of it, so hasn’t yet witnessed any improved positivity in its market. Restockers finally […]
Lotfed cattle spending more time on feed
Increased feeder cattle availability and lower prices have been enough to offset the increase of other inputs for lotfeeders, with cattle on feed numbers climbing higher in the September quarter. The modest increase of about 1500 head took the number of cattle on feed to 1.258 million head, making the July to September 2023 period […]
Positive market moves continue
National cattle yardings jumped significantly this week, but it didn’t put downward pressure on prices, as indicators rose across the board. Young cattle, feeders, and restocker performed particularly well this week, indicating a more positive outlook for the cattle market in general moving forward. Meat and Livestock Australia reported cattle yarding numbers increased by more […]
New year’s higher price for lamb still expected
There have been rumours swirling of forward contracts for lamb in the range of 650¢/kg being offered up for the new year. While I haven’t set eyes on these supposed contracts, it has prompted plenty of chat about what the lamb market might have in store for the next couple of months. At 650¢/kg, producers […]
Trade lambs revert to month-ago levels
Australia’s October sheepmeat exports were the highest monthly total on record, driven mainly by significant increases in mutton volumes. Unfortunately, record-breaking exports and strong slaughter throughput were not enough to impact domestic markets this week as pretty much all of the price indicators have reverted in the last week back to month-ago levels. The National […]
Beef market share shake up
Australian beef exports reached their highest monthly volume since pre-COVID (December 2019) in October, breaking through the 100,000 tonnes mark for just the second time since then. Demand from the US and China has continued, putting them as the number one and two destinations for Australian beef, while the traditional biggest market share holder Japan […]
Waiting on the weather
There was little movement in cattle prices again this week as the market holds firm, perhaps waiting to see if the rain forecast for parts of the East Coast in the coming days will eventuate. Beef export volumes reached their highest monthly total in October since 2019 (our last big turnoff year) according to MLA, […]
Live sheep still setting sail
The live sheep export industry is still showing resilience against its impending federal government ban, continuing to trade above year-ago levels. In September, more than 57,000 head were exported, up from less than 2000 in the same month last year. While calendar year totals so far are still well below pre-COVID levels, there doesn’t seem […]
