Varying quality, supply levels keep prices fluid

While saleyards in Victoria point to firm trends for young sucker lambs, the lamb market was cheaper further north into NSW.

Fluctuation: It was a tougher market for young first-cross ewes at Wycheproof last week.

PRICE fluctuations are appearing for lamb and mutton as markets distort around different quality and supply levels from the south to the north.

Saleyards in Victoria generally were reporting firm trends for fresh young sucker lambs early in the week, with the main buying focus switching to the southwest, where the main flush of numbers is underway.

Further north into New South Wales the lamb market was cheaper, affected by smaller yardings amid the harvest, declining condition and quality, and a smaller roll-up of buyers with more slaughter stock purchased from southern areas.

The overall result was a slight easing of national saleyard price indicators.

At the close of selling earlier in the week, the heavy lamb indicator was listed at 743c/kg carcass weight for a 2 cent slip, while the trade lamb indicator was at 757c/kg, or 4 cents lower.

Those figures align with the ballpark quotes of 720-760c/kg for the majority of processing lambs being sold by auction.

Agents at Hamilton are now selling lambs on a Monday and Wednesday, and sheep on a Thursday, as the Western District season peaks.

There were 27,768 lambs at Hamilton earlier this week.

The NLRS quoted a range of $160 to $204 over the main run of medium weighted domestic suckers (22-24kg cwt).

It calculated out to an average of $174 at an estimated 737c/kg cwt.

Supermarket and domestic buyers paid premiums for neat lambs around 21-22kg, with some sales recording above 800c/kg, due to a shortage of these nicely weighted trade lambs at many centres.

At present, for most lambs to make over $200 requires stock sized 26kg cwt and heavier.

The top price at Hamilton was $233, but the percentage of the heavy suckers over 28kg being sold from the area was limited.

At Bendigo earlier this week, there were less big export lambs yarded, with the few pens over 30kg cwt from $224 to a top of $237.

Store lambs held their value, particularly any of the better bred types being sold in big lines.

There were several very good drafts of store lambs sent into Bendigo from the Yea and Mansfield areas this week.

Those lambs, some which were young. being an August drop, sold from $142 to $163 to be solid on a week prior, the NLRS said.

At Hamilton, there were agents from as far afield as Wagga Wagga in the Riverina and Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley shopping for store lambs.

The price quote for traditional sized little store lambs to the paddock, 16-18kg, was $126 to $146 to average $133.

Meanwhile, tight supplies of sheep continue to hold the mutton market together.

There were still strong sales of heavy mutton at Bendigo at $180 to $259 for very big meat ewes.

The price spread for good mutton remained at 620c/kg to 680c/kg cwt.

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