NSW dominated the mutton market, with four of the top five yardings, with the other one being Katanning, WA, and it averaged above the national price at 805¢/kg. The National Mutton Indicator rose 14¢/kg for the week to reach 790¢/kg, or an average of $210/head. Merinos made up a vast majority of the NMI eligible sheep and operated at a 5/ckg premium to the indicator, while stock in the 18-24kg range were in the highest demand, averaging 25¢/kg more. At its current level, the NMI is 53% higher year-on-year, and 66% above the five-year-average.
Numbers wise, total sheep yardings fell by 39% both from the previous week and year-on-year. The National Livestock Reporting Service weekly sheep yarding is currently averaging just below 81,000 head, which is 29% less than the same time last year. Lamb numbers were down 10% from last week, and 24% lower than the same week in 2025, but on average for the year-to-date are only trending 9% lower than last year.
Lamb throughput fell across all the indicators, but heavy and trade lambs had the biggest decrease in numbers. This didn’t stop the national heavy lamb price from also dropping the most week-on-week, down 43¢/kg to 1065¢/kg. It has now lost nearly 70¢/kg for the month and sits at the lowest year-on-year premium. Wagga Wagga, NSW, had 30% of the heavy lamb numbers, and the NLRS quoted all export buyers operating, but not at full capacity, selecting only shorter skinned lambs.
Trade lambs fell 20¢/kg this week to 1131¢/kg, while the Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator was only slightly higher at 1134¢/kg. Ballarat, Vic, and Wagga Wagga were neck and neck for throughput with the two largest yardings, but the average price was vastly different, 1168¢/kg compared to 1146¢/kg respectively. Light and medium trade lambs made up to 1230¢/kg in some cases at Ballarat, according to the NLRS.
Lambs on feed lead competition
Next week
Feeder competition seems to be the most resilient, with the physical market reports making comment of their buying presence and the extra demand for lambs that have already been on feed. Even with more rain forecast in the coming days, supply and type are likely to dictate the market more than seasonal conditions from now through to mid-winter.
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Data sources: MLA, Bloomberg, Mecardo
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