Trade lambs prices on the rise

Trade lamb prices are on the way up, rising about 55c/kg in the past month.

Trade lamb prices have increased 41c/kg in the past week. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Trade lamb prices are on the way up, rising about 55c/kg in the past month.

The National Trade Lamb Indicator was sitting at 674c/kg on Monday, up 41c/kg in just a week as buyers scramble for supplies of trade weight stock.

South Australian seedstock breeder and commercial lamb producer Trevor James, Mundulla, said the South East was having a tough season, with less than 20mm in many areas since mid January.

He said producers needed a good break within the next few weeks or would face feeding through winter.

He said prices needed to “get back to around the 700c/kg mark by May-June”.

“In the past 700c/kg seems pretty good, but costs have risen, especially insurance, so margins really have gotten thinner,” he said.

“As long as we don’t get caught (with falling prices), like we did last October, for those who sold stock then it takes a while to get out of that,” he said.

“It is an uncertain world we are living in now, and wool prices are pretty ordinary, they are not doing anything but production costs keep going up.”

With dry conditions impacting much of southern Australia, Mr James said he remained hopeful that there would be a “reasonable start within the next few weeks”.