Weekly sheep and cattle market wrap
19 August 2022
Key points:
- The EYCI sat above year-ago levels for the first time in over a month and a half.
- Yardings tightened and restocker demand returned.
- Lamb slaughter has reached its second highest level for this year.
- Have your say in MLA’s indicator review.
Indicators
EYCI
The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) strengthened again this week by 46¢ to sit at 1,006.28¢/kg cwt. This is the first time since the middle of July that the EYCI has been pushed above year-ago levels.
The EYCI’s rise follows a very strong sale at Wagga Wagga, which took out 16% of the contribution to the indicator and traded at a 60¢ premium on the national average. Increased restocker demand and tightening supply have pushed buyer demand higher.
Meanwhile, the restocker premium has increased again, to sit 12% higher than feeder prices in the EYCI.
WYCI
The Western Australian Young Cattle Indicator (WYCI) has eased 58¢ week-on-week with reduced yardings at Mount Barker, following heavy rains in the area.
Lambs
Trade lamb prices continue to hold firm at 739.13¢/kg cwt, with Forbes taking out the largest premium on the national average at 804.12¢/kg cwt. Forbes has bounced back after a dip in prices from the last few weeks as the tail end of the season moved through the saleyards.
Restocker lambs have improved 36¢ week-on-week with prices in Wagga Wagga and Forbes, sitting 291¢ and 207¢ above the national average respectively. While this did improve the price of the indicator, the largest contributor – CLTX Carcoar – traded 164¢ below the national average of 630.41¢/kg cwt following increased yardings for restockers. Overall, the quality moving through seems to be improving.
Young lambs are continuing to hit the market with a 14% increase week-on-week.
Yardings
Yardings across the board have been tightening which is helping prices with increased demand at the saleyards. Much of this demand is coming from restockers.
Indicator review
MLA is conducting an indicator review to ensure all indicators published by the organisation are reliable, relevant, and accurate. Press the button below to take a short survey have your say on MLA’s indicators:
Alternatively, read more about the indicator review here.
Slaughter
This week, lamb slaughter hit its second highest level of the year at 409,608 head. This is an 8% increase week-on-week, following a small dip in slaughter last month. Meanwhile, sheep slaughter is following its usual seasonal pattern at the end of the lambing season.
Goat slaughter continues to climb, reaching 33,770 head this week. This follows a 16% increase week-on-week in slaughter in Victoria.
In cattle, slaughter volumes have dipped below year-ago levels, hitting 93,929 head.
Sales update
The Dubbo store sale and the Armidale sale did not run this week.
ABS figures
The quarterly figures from ABS will be released today, Friday 19 August.
