Restockers are pushing prices as rain falls, feeder demand lifts

Agents report restockers are jumping into the market and processors are “starting to look for cattle” as the season improves across eastern Australia.

Cattle and sheep markets are shooting higher as good rain arrives in parts of the eastern seaboard and patchy, promising falls elsewhere.

The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator shot up 21c overnight to 624c/kg midmorning today.

And the benchmark Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator was at 659c/kg carcass weight, up about 20c/kg in a week.

Restockers have jumped into the market on both lambs and young cattle.

Meat and Livestock Australia reported the restocker yearling heifer indicator shot up 28c/kg, while light lambs surged 55c/kg to an average of 591c/kg in early week trading and restocking lambs climbed to 578c/kg – the best price vendors have received in two months.

StoneX analyst Ripley Atkinson said confidence was returning in many areas.

This was particularly true for those producers that had decent falls after an usually dry period, including many parts of southern Victoria and Tasmania, while demand was strong in Queensland and northern NSW from restockers.

“Restocker heifers have been up 30c/kg and that shows people are happy to buy cattle and grow their numbers once again,” he said.

Mr Atkinson said near-record high beef export figures for March also demonstrated processors could handle the high volumes of cattle being produced nationwide, and that demand was diverse globally for Australian beef.

In Gippsland Leongatha agents will yard about 4000 store cattle on Friday and Nutrien agent Jack Ginnane said the “good four inches (100mm) we have had has given us a really nice autumn break”.

Mr Ginnane expected the rain to drive local demand and “hopefully prices will follow”.

The region had been through a relatively tough “late summer and autumn” with low paddock feed, meaning some cattle were being turned off slightly early.

He said feeder steer prices were “pushing ahead as numbers of them are running out, in other areas of the state”.

Processors were also “starting to look for a few cattle”, Mr Ginnane said and wait times on slaughter bookings had decreased in recent weeks.

“Hopefully prices will keep getting stronger in coming weeks and it doesn’t get too cold too quickly so the grass can keep growing.”

Meanwhile, sheep producers are also hoping the rates keep rising after the mutton market lifted $10 to $30 on Monday, and the saleyard average price for sheep sat above 300c/kg.

Heavy lamb prices have made their way up to 673c/kg, a lift of 16c/kg in a week while trade lambs have risen 23c/kg to be tracking at 660c/kg, promising better returns for finished lambs.