Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

Cattle market

This week, cattle yarded through saleyards eased 21% to 53,161 head, though year-to-date throughput remains 29% above 2023 levels.

The cattle market was mixed this week. Restockers experienced some recovery, with the National Young Cattle Indicator lifting 7¢ to 362¢/kg carcase weight (cwt). Online sales in NSW made up the most significant portion of the indicator, followed by Queensland (Roma and Dalby) and Queensland online sales.

Improved conditions of young cattle and increased demand for steers lifted prices despite elevated supply. Improved quality of feeder cattle across NSW lifted feeder steer prices 3¢ to 349¢/kg liveweight (lwt). 

Sheep market

Sheep and lamb yardings eased after the large yarding the previous week. The throughput of lamb fell by 22% to 171,082 head, and sheep yardings eased by 25% to 81,367. This resulted in a combined decline of 23%, driven mainly by decreases in NSW.

Despite a reduction in supply, the lamb market didn’t experience a recovery and continued to ease week-on-week. This was experienced across all states and indicators. 

The Light (596¢/kg cwt), Heavy (783¢/kg cwt) and Trade Lamb (778¢/kg cwt) indicators all fell between 27¢ and 48¢. Buyer participation varied due to mixed quality through saleyards, and there was less demand due to maintenance shutdowns across some plants.

The entrance of significant numbers of mixed-quality new season lambs across NSW and Victoria saw a supply-driven price decline.

Slaughter

Week ending 13 September 2024

Cattle slaughter lifted 3% on the previous week to 140,402 head. NSW (33,330), Queensland (74,982), SA (3,275) and WA (2,796) had a 1% or less change week-on-week. Numbers through Victoria lifted 3% to 21,910, and Tasmania saw a significant lift to 4,109 with the return of reporting after scheduled shutdowns. 

Sheep slaughter lifted 27% to 212,613 head, the third-highest throughput in the past five years and the most significant kill week since December 2019. The lift was driven by some processors coming back online, and a 47% increase in Victoria (62,438), a 27% increase in SA (22,280), and a 24% increase in NSW (85,428), which have experienced a generally dry winter period. Lamb slaughter lifted 9% to 445,724 head, also driven by processors coming online in the southern states, lifting 74% across SA to 52,342, and 10% in NSW to 11,278 head.

Combined slaughter increased 14% nationally to 658,337 across all states bar Tasmania. South Australia saw the biggest lift, up 56% from the week prior. Year-to-date, sheepmeat slaughter is still 15% above last year’s figures. 

Attribute to: Erin Lukey, MLA Senior Market Information Analyst