Australia-The Lamb market.
AUSTRALIA-WA weekly sheep summary
Easter impacts saleyard numbers
The southern Ag districts have experienced another week of fine and hot weather with conditions remaining extremely dry and no rainfall recorded in the vast majority of areas. Forecasts have predicted that these conditions will cease with a cold front expected to cross the coast on Monday which should bring some light shower activity with it. Unfortunately this is not the strong break to the growing season that many producers would have been hoping for. Paddock feed conditions in the majority of areas have been fully utilised and hand feeding is now a must with lambing activity also on the increase. Many pundits on all sides of industry continue to predict a sharp fall in supplies of all types of sheep and lambs with many producers now focusing their efforts on cropping programmes.
With the strong live export and trade demand for store crossbred lambs this year and the subsequent higher market rates that they have achieved, many producers have opted to sell rather than finish them on grain. This has seen many processors of late purchasing solid supplies of ewe mutton and lambs in their own right for finishing on agistment or in feed lots. Both yardings of sheep and lambs were lower this week with many agents and producers shy of the market conditions given the two short working weeks and weaker demand created by Easter. The quality and weight of both yardings continued to slide with both indicative of current paddock feed conditions with ewe mutton and crossbred lambs remaining the largest classes to be sold.
Larger numbers of Merino store lambs
There were fewer supplies of crossbred lambs penned and these included lower numbers of prime trade and heavy weight lambs suitable for the trade. Demand on heavy weight lambs eased with lower prices recorded, while trade weight classes maintained their recent levels. The store crossbred lamb market was again solidly underpinned by demand from the live export, trade and feeder sectors which saw slightly dearer costings resultant. Merino store lambs supplies were again buoyant with these accounting for healthy percentages of both markets. Demand from the live export sector for larger framed wether lamb drafts remained solid, while export feeder and restocker demand was also encouraging. Store Merino ewe lambs enjoyed improved restocker demand with only very small and plain quality drafts receiving discounts.
Demand from the local and export processing sectors for ewe mutton continued to increase this week across the weight and condition classes. Values increased with the majority of classes averaging in excess of 200c/kg cwt. Live export demand for suitable wethers and rams remained a feature of both markets with all three live export orders operational at both centres. The majority finished wethers and rams achieved rates in excess of $80/head on a bare shorn basis.
