Large amounts of rain across the East coast saw producers opting to hold onto cattle as feed concerns eased. This had a positive impact on price seeing all indicators rise. Yardings fell, off the back of last weeks significant jump, leaving buyers competing more over available stock in the market.
After last week’s bounce In yardings, preliminary
data from Meat and Livestock Australia showed that yardings returned inline
with the downwards trend. Saleyard throughput across the Nation were down 14%
week-on-week, with large decreases in Qld from Roma (down 37% to 2575 head) and
Dalby (down 55% to 1723 head). This was due to revived producer confidence with
large amounts of rain falling which is easing summer feed supply concerns and
saw prices continue to rise.
The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI)
saw its second week of over 40c/kg rises to finish the week at 485c/kg. The majority of stock sold went to feeders, paying
an average of 462c/kg slightly down on the indicator. The highest average price
for the indicator was at Armidale where the 145 head averaged 582c/kg, almost
one dollar above the indicator.
The Argus Northern Feeder Steer Indicator
followed a similar story to the EYCI with rain forcing lotfeeders to compete
for stock. Feeder cattle prices rose 23c/kg finishing the week at 274c/kg with
yardings down about half from the week prior.
Processor cows numbers were down 29% on the
previous week helping boost the price up 8.2% to 187c/kg lwt. Wagga had the
highest throughput with 607 head, trading right on the indicator price of
186c/kg lwt. At the top end of the market processor cows at Emerald and Dalby
received around the 227c/kg average.
Restocker Heifers saw a larger volume
decrease compared to their male counterparts with a 55% week-on-week reduction
compared to a 31% reduction of males. This suggests producers are starting to
once again hold onto younger breeding stock due to an increase in confidence to
get them through the summer. This bucks the trend of the latest September
quarter ABARES slaughter data released which showed the female slaughter rates
to be 49%, which is above the 47% threshold that suggests that producers had
begun destocking.
Next week
Expect to see subdued volumes as producers wait to see how much rain falls and how the market responds to the lower supply and higher prices. The BOM is predicting more rain on the horizon with a 60% chance or higher probability of exceeding median rainfall for the East Coast next week. If true we can expect continued price support and rising confidence from producers to feed cattle through summer months.
Most recent industry outlooks point to a steady-as-she-goes cattle market for the medium term, with strong ongoing export demand and high slaughter levels counteracting the
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Grass is greener?
Next week
Expect to see subdued volumes as producers wait to see how much rain falls and how the market responds to the lower supply and higher prices. The BOM is predicting more rain on the horizon with a 60% chance or higher probability of exceeding median rainfall for the East Coast next week. If true we can expect continued price support and rising confidence from producers to feed cattle through summer months.
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Data sources: MLA, Argus, Mecardo
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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.
Research: Analysis of the Australian sheep flock
In this report for LiveCorp and MLA, we analysed the historical trends in the demographics of the Australian sheep flock, examining domestic factors that influence farm-level enterprise decision making.
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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.