Cattle and sheep slaughter on the rise
18 November 2022
The latest ABS slaughter and production data for the September quarter was released on Thursday. Here are some high-level takeaways ahead of a deeper analysis coming out soon.
Cattle
Overall cattle slaughter and production increased 4% quarter-on-quarter, while carcase weights only eased 1kg. Although these results are below year-ago levels, slaughter numbers remain strong for the year.
The female slaughter rate reached 44%, an indication that the herd rebuild continues moving into the last quarter of the year.
State breakdown:
- NSW increased slaughter by 1% but a 7kg easing in carcase weights saw production soften 2%.
- Victoria increased slaughter, production and carcase weights by 1% reaching 299,000 head for Q3.
- Queensland saw a large increase of 9% quarter-on-quarter for cattle slaughter and production. Slaughter numbers are still back 9% on last year’s results at 753,100 head.
- WA increased slaughter rates by 52% year-on-year, with production up 58% compared to September last year.
National calf production increased by 50% which is typical for this time of year. Victoria saw an uptick of 77% from last quarter, 14% higher than year-ago figures.
Sheep
National lamb slaughter rose 1% to 547,660 head this quarter, but production eased 1%. Production is still 8% higher year-on-year.
State breakdown:
- Queensland increased slaughter and production by 12% coming off a lower result from Q2.
- South Australia also eased in production and slaughter with production reaching 16,560 tonnes for Q3.
- NSW production eased 1% despite a 1% increase in slaughter as carcase weights softened slightly.
Sheep slaughter improved greatly reaching 155,170 head for Q3. This is a 13% increase quarter-on-quarter with production increasing 19%. Carcase weights also increased 1.45kg to 26.9kg.
State breakdown:
- NSW production increased 5% from last quarter despite an easing in slaughter. Although slaughter rates were slightly softer, they remained 11% above the September quarter last year.
- Victoria greatly increased sheep slaughter numbers to 749,000 head, a 43% increase from last quarter as lambing comes to an end. Production also improved 53% which is 24% above this time last year.
- SA reduced slaughter 50% on last quarter equalling year-ago levels.
