Lamb slaughter off to a fast pace in first quarter
12 May 2016
Hot and dry conditions for the first three months of 2016 caused Australian lamb slaughter to be higher than anticipated – up 3% year-on-year and 16% above than the five-year average, at 5.88 million head (ABS).
SA, WA, Tasmania and Queensland were the states driving the increase for the quarter, while NSW and Victoria were similar to year-ago levels:
- Victoria – 2.55 million head, unchanged
- NSW – 1.24 million head, unchanged
- SA – 1.06 million head, up 3%
- WA – 743,925 head, up 16%
- Tasmania – 187,942 head, up 7%
- Queensland – 100,846 head, up 33%
National lamb production also increased 3% in the March quarter, to 133,580 tonnes cwt – with the average Australian lamb carcase unchanged year-on-year, at 22.7kg/head.
As a result of the higher than expected start to the year, Australian lamb supplies are anticipated to tighten during the winter months, prior to the new season spring flush.
Looking forward, MLA forecasts lamb slaughter for 2016 to reach 22 million head – 3% lower than the record high in 2015. Production is expected to decline to the same extent as slaughter, to 488,400 tonnes cwt.
To read the full Australian Sheep Industry Projections 2016 April Update, please CLICK HERE
