The excitement for the week occurred at Wagga saleyards with a record set on Thursday for the biggest offering of sheep and lambs in a single sale with a total yarding of 80,650. Wagga wasn’t the only busy saleyard though with national weekly throughput at the highest level this year.
The Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator (ESTLI) lost 41¢ over the week as supply returned and overwhelmed the market. The ESTLI settled at 763¢ at the end of week. In the West Trade Lambs found some strength, gaining 39¢ to 548¢ which is 184¢ or 25% below the same time last year.
The solid run of price increases also came to an end for heavy lambs this week with the national indicator losing 68¢ or 8% to 752¢/kg cwt. A large lift in throughput of restocker lambs drove prices lower in NSW and Vic, with the national indicator dropping 56¢ to 770¢/kg cwt.
Mutton also felt the pressure from a jump in throughput and a falling lamb market and the National Mutton Indicator lost 38¢ over the week to 468¢/kg cwt.
322,784 lambs were processed in the east in the week ending the 4th of November. This was a 10% drop on the week prior but the the extra kill space wasn’t taken up by sheep. 98,122 sheep were processed which was 19% lower than the week prior.
Supply continues to be disrupted by the wet conditions with lambs delayed by 6-7 weeks. In some regions, lambs that were booked in late September are now just coming through. East coast lamb yardings last week lifted 6% on the week prior but was 19% below the five-year average.
This week the flooding in Forbes sent stock to the Wagga yards, which combined with delays from weather, public holidays and labour challenges led to the record throughput. Even the early yardings reports from this week show total sheep and lamb throughput for this week at an impressive 379,067 head. The second highest yarding this year came in at 295,189 in the middle of October so it’s no wonder the market was overwhelmed.
The week ahead….
Looking at the flow for the spring flush of lambs, agents report that Bendigo is yet to reach its peak in lamb supply and is likely still a few weeks away. Ballarat will follow, two weeks or so behind. Strong numbers are now starting to come through Hamilton but this is unlikely to peak until December.
Rain on the forecast should hold lambs back in the south for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, this will prevent the saleyards from being oversupplied in the next few weeks.
In mid-2022 Mecardo looked at the international supply of sheep meat (albeit from a limited number of countries) showing how lower supply had positively correlated
A short week, and closed saleyards on Thursday has culminated in some relief on the supply front as combined lamb and sheep yardings nationally dropped
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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.
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.
Here comes the backlog
The Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator (ESTLI) lost 41¢ over the week as supply returned and overwhelmed the market. The ESTLI settled at 763¢ at the end of week. In the West Trade Lambs found some strength, gaining 39¢ to 548¢ which is 184¢ or 25% below the same time last year.
The solid run of price increases also came to an end for heavy lambs this week with the national indicator losing 68¢ or 8% to 752¢/kg cwt. A large lift in throughput of restocker lambs drove prices lower in NSW and Vic, with the national indicator dropping 56¢ to 770¢/kg cwt.
Mutton also felt the pressure from a jump in throughput and a falling lamb market and the National Mutton Indicator lost 38¢ over the week to 468¢/kg cwt.
322,784 lambs were processed in the east in the week ending the 4th of November. This was a 10% drop on the week prior but the the extra kill space wasn’t taken up by sheep. 98,122 sheep were processed which was 19% lower than the week prior.
Supply continues to be disrupted by the wet conditions with lambs delayed by 6-7 weeks. In some regions, lambs that were booked in late September are now just coming through. East coast lamb yardings last week lifted 6% on the week prior but was 19% below the five-year average.
This week the flooding in Forbes sent stock to the Wagga yards, which combined with delays from weather, public holidays and labour challenges led to the record throughput. Even the early yardings reports from this week show total sheep and lamb throughput for this week at an impressive 379,067 head. The second highest yarding this year came in at 295,189 in the middle of October so it’s no wonder the market was overwhelmed.
The week ahead….
Looking at the flow for the spring flush of lambs, agents report that Bendigo is yet to reach its peak in lamb supply and is likely still a few weeks away. Ballarat will follow, two weeks or so behind. Strong numbers are now starting to come through Hamilton but this is unlikely to peak until December.
Rain on the forecast should hold lambs back in the south for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, this will prevent the saleyards from being oversupplied in the next few weeks.
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Click on graph to expand
Data sources: MLA, Mecardo
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A short week, and closed saleyards on Thursday has culminated in some relief on the supply front as combined lamb and sheep yardings nationally dropped
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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.