Shortage lifts cattle prices but lamb market in winter doldrums

Cattle prices on the rise as buyers seek numbers in a tight market, while lamb trade lacks momentum.

The cow market was one of the highlights of the trading week, benefiting from a global shortage of manufacturing beef. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Cattle prices are starting to show some winter premiums as a shortage of supply continues to drive the market.

Heavy feeder steers and young calves to restockers have been the highlight in early trading this week, with some centres reporting gains of 10c/kg to 20c/kg liveweight.

It helped carry the Eastern Young Cattle indicator to another new record of 917c/kg carcass weight at the close of trading on Monday.

Following on from the action seen at store sales late last week, feedlot buyers chased quality heavy steers at prime markets on Monday, at times paying more than 500c/kg liveweight for steers weighing more than 500kg.

At Wagga Wagga in NSW bidding reached 518c/kg and Leanne Dax from the National Livestock Reporting Service said not many “well bred yearling steers sold below 500c/kg’’ to show a spike of 20c/kg.

Data from the sale shows 749 yearling steers sold to feedlots at an average of 500c/kg or $2129 on an average weight of 428kg.

Restockers claimed just 177 of the yearling steers, forced to pay a higher rate of 549c/kg against the strong feedlot demand, costing them $1509 on a lighter weight of 280kg.

The other highlight on Monday was the cow market, which continues to benefit from a shortage of manufacturing beef on the world stage.

There has been sales above 350c/kg in the past week for heavy beef cows that offered processors above average yields, examples being Charolais and Limousin-cross females.

According to the NLRS there were 1725 cows sold at major prime markets on Monday, accounting for about 25 per cent of all the cattle on offer.

The 1200 cows sold to meat processors cost an average of 312c/kg, or $1827 across an average weight of 580kg. This marked a big increase of 20c/kg on a week ago.

There was not as much change across the 270 dairy cows, which tended to be lighter and plainer types being culled from milking sheds, and they averaged 250c/kg.

Meanwhile, domestic meat processors have also had to push harder on the few top quality slaughter calves that are being yarded at present.

At Pakenham on Monday bidding reached a high of 544c/kg, but most sales remain capped between 500c/kg to 530c/kg liveweight for the lead runs of vealer steers and heifers.

The overall data from all Monday sales covered by the NLRS shows just 52 vealer steers sold to processors at an average of 497c/kg, or $1884 on an average weight of 378kg.

Restockers are claiming most of the vealer run, which contains light calves, paying an average of 489c/kg for small steer calves at 235kg.

TRADE RETURNS, STRANDED IN WINTER DOLDRUMS

Lamb prices have continued to hover either side of 800c/kg carcass weight, with the market still unable to gain much winter momentum.

The market returned to full trading this week after the disruption of the Queen’s Birthday holiday, however not all processors were active in the auction system.

Key export companies like Thomas Foods International, Australian Lamb Company and JBS remain quiet, reportedly relying on lambs booked direct and on forward contracts for most of their daily kills.

The latest saleyard indicators have heavy lambs (22kg-plus) at 795c/kg carcass weight, showing a change of just 2c/kg on last month. Trade lambs were listed at 828c/kg, up 9c/kg on last month.

Helping this section has been some dearer rates for nicely weighted domestic lambs in the 20-22kg range.

However, the bulk of sales in the auction system remain under the 800c/kg benchmark.

There were 30,710 lambs assessed by NLRS reporters at sales across Victoria, NSW and South Australia on Monday, and the overall average was 788c/kg or $188 on an average size of 23.5kg.

When these 30,000-plus sales were broken down by breed the results were:

19,273 crossbred lambs averaged $203 to meat processors at 795c/kg on a weight of 25.3kg;

5152 Merino lambs averaged $168 or 761c/kg at 21.1kg;

1715 Dorper lambs averaged $185 or 777c/kg on a weight of 24kg; and

983 smaller store lambs sold to restockers at $144 for 17kg at 826c/kg.

Sheep were the big movers in sales this week, a shortage of mutton triggering rate spikes.

For extra heavy export lambs the dollar-a-head range has mostly been $230 to $265 for lambs weighing in excess of 30kg.

The big mover at saleyards early this week was sheep, with the shortage of mutton causing another round of price spikes as a couple of exporters fought for supplies. The NLRS said there were price surges of $20 to $30 at Bendigo as two companies — Fletchers of Dubbo and Cedar Meats based in Melbourne — fought over the limited run of heavy ewes and lambs.

There were Merino wethers and neat trade sheep quoted above 700c/kg at this market, some pens listed in the vicinity of lamb money.

The average for 9300 ewes sold by auction on Monday was $178, working out to 668c/kg on a weight of 25.6kg.

The 1710 Merino wethers sold averaged $190 at an average of 716c/kg.

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