Prices drop $50 on back of numbers, less competition

There were hopes a big rally in mutton prices last week would continue, but drops of up to $50 at Wagga Wagga proved sobering for the industry.

A monster yarding of nearly 70,000 sheep and lambs at Wagga Wagga, NSW, saw producers penalised as the surge of numbers shows no signs of slowing.

Producers flooded the sale with 49,000 lambs and 20,000 sheep on the back of much better prices last week, where mutton rates rose dramatically.

But all of the rise and more was lost after today’s sale, with National Livestock Reporting Service reporter Leann Dax quoting early sales of mutton were $30-$50 cheaper than last week, trading between 90-125c/kg.

This was around half the 200c/kg that many sheep made a week earlier.

The big yarding at Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre sheep and lamb sale saw almost 70,000 sheep and lambs offered today. Picture: Nikki Reynolds

In the past seven days, an extra 19,000 mutton sheep have been yarded at saleyards monitored by the NLRS, on the back of the big price spike at Wagga Wagga, NSW, last week.

But the much better market proved to be the exception rather than the rule, with the national mutton indicator’s brief spike now in free fall.

The national mutton indicator had slipped to 121c/kg carcass weight before Wagga Wagga’s prices were included in the rolling seven-day average, losing 50c/kg in just a week.

Wagga Wagga also had a big yarding of nearly 50,000 lambs today and trade prices were firm to a few dollars easier, with new season lambs averaging about 480c/kg. The best heavy lambs over 30kg made $179.40

Old trade lambs were quoted as $7-$10 cheaper, with trade weights selling from $50-$117, while heavier old lamb prices were solid. But the extra heavy lambs, more than 30kg, lost $15 in a sharp fall in rates.

Today’s market was one of the biggest for the year at the centre, which is the biggest sheep saleyards in Australia according to a report commissioned by the National Livestock Reporting Service.

In November last year, about 80,000 sheep and lambs were sold in a record yarding.