Agents reveal price impact as Fletcher’s closes over Covid-19

Meat processor Fletcher’s has sent hundreds of workers home due to Covid-19. The decision is already having ramifications at saleyards.

Fletchers is a volume buyer of mutton sheep at big prime sheep sales in Victoria and southern NSW.

The absence of one of nation’s largest livestock buyers from saleyards this week has already seen prices fall by up to $20/head on heavy ewes at Bendigo today.

Meat processor Fletchers has moved, by choice, to close its plant at Dubbo in NSW.

The sheepmeat giant made the call to send workers home to protect the local community from Covid-19 and slow its rampant spread through regional NSW.

The removal of the buying strength of Fletcher’s was noticeable at the Bendigo yarding today in Victoria, with National Livestock Reporting Service reporter Jenny Kelly noting prices for heavy mutton fell $10-$20, with big crossbred ewes returning $194-$226/head.

Fletcher’s is often the biggest buyer of mutton sheep at the big prime sheep sales in Victoria and southern NSW each week, including Bendigo, Horsham and Griffith.

Ms Kelly said that other processors, who normally are not as competitive against Fletchers, were able to secure the heavy mutton types today.

The yarding was down by 2200 to 6000 sheep.

The lamb market was unaffected, lifting by $10-$30.

Ballarat holds its weekly sale tomorrow, and Nutrien agent Xavier Shanahan said the absence of Fletchers was expected to “bring the market back a bit”, although the winter yarding was already expected to be small.

He said he would expect any producers with heavy sheep to sell would consider holding them back. “Fletcher’s set the pace,” he said, “so it has got to have an impact”.

However, Mr Shanahan said producers would be inclined to pass sheep in rather than sell for prices “$40-$50” below where they had been, if the market was to make a significant correction.

The move by Fletcher’s to shut down for a week comes as the state of NSW has been plunged into a statewide lockdown as the Covid-19 outbreak worsens.

Roger Fletcher, Fletcher International Exports, told The Weekly Times this morning he had made the tough decision to close the livestock processing plant - for a week.

“Dubbo is in a tough position,” Mr Fletcher said.

“We have not got Covid at the plant and we do not want to get it, so we decided to close the plant before the horse has bolted.

“It is a difficult time but this is best for the community and everyone involved and to protect our workers.”

Fletcher’s employs around 800 people at the meat processing plant.

Its other operations at Dubbo, including a rail terminal and farms, will continue to operate.

The processing plant could have remained open as it is an essential service.

“We could have kept it going but we thought it best for everyone to close for now, so we can get back up and going as soon as possible,” he said.

Mr Fletcher confirmed his company would not be buying livestock this week.

“We hope it will just be the week and we do the right thing to protect our people and markets,” he said.

An outbreak among workers could lead to greater, longer term disruption, he said.

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