Saleyard lamb indicators boosted by processor demand

Last week, national lamb saleyard throughput was fairly steady with the previous week, at around 175,000 head – bringing the average weekly lamb saleyard supply for October to 179,058 head, 8% lower year-on-year.

At the same time, processor activity in the physical market lifted in order to boost kill supplies. Last week, processor purchases across NSW saleyards were up around 10,000 head from the previous week and up 24% year-on-year, totalling 62,138 head. Restocker demand eased slightly over the same period, with around 3,000 fewer lambs bought week-on-week and 10,000 head fewer than the same time last year, at 7,916 head.

Eastern states lamb slaughter last week totalled 384,763 head, up 3% from the previous week, although 5% lower year-on-year. Victorian slaughter lifted 3% week-on-week, to 187,771 head – the highest weekly kill since January this year.

At the conclusion of Monday’s markets, the eastern states restocker lamb indicator settled on 612¢, down 15¢/kg cwt week-on-week, while all other indicators lifted.  

• Merino lambs gained 12¢ to 524¢/kg cwt
• Light lambs lifted 21¢ to 577¢/kg cwt
• The Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator (ESTLI) lifted 9¢ to 563¢/kg cwt
• The heavy lamb indicator increased 16¢ to 562¢/kg cwt