A southern slowdown

Livestock | 29th September 2021 | By Matt Dalgleish

The Snapshot

  • Victorian cattle slaughter figures eased by 18% to drop to the lowest weekly volumes seen since the start of the season, placing the current cattle slaughter levels in Victoria at 49% below the five-year seasonal average.
  • In comparison, cattle slaughter volumes in Queensland are currently running 20% under their seasonal trend and New South Wales are 14% below trend.
  • Victorian lambs processed dropped by 15% to hit the lowest weekly numbers since the Easter processing lull.
  • Victorian lamb slaughter is currently running 14% under the levels demonstrated by the seasonal average and are in stark contrast to lamb slaughter in NSW, which is sitting 15% above the five-year trend

The Detail

Weekly Victorian cattle slaughter figures eased by 18% to drop to the lowest volumes seen since the start of the season at just 10,054 head of cattle processed, for the week ending 24th September. This places the current cattle slaughter levels in Victoria at 49% below the five-year seasonal average for this time in the year.

Cattle slaughter is tight across the east coast, but Victoria is particularly lacklustre. Cattle slaughter volumes in Queensland are currently running 20% under their seasonal trend and New South Wales are 14% below trend. A comparison of the total east coast cattle slaughter figures for the week ending 24th September shows that 94,752 head were reported processed, which is 11% under the five-year trend and highlights how far off the pace the Victorian volumes are running.

It isn’t just cattle processing levels that are struggling in Victoria, with weekly lamb slaughter volumes also tanking last week. Lambs processed dropped by 15% to hit the lowest weekly numbers since the Easter processing lull at just 136,909 head reported. Victorian lamb slaughter is currently running 14% under the levels demonstrated by the seasonal average and are in stark contrast to lamb slaughter in NSW, which is sitting 15% above the five-year trend for this week in the season.

The softer Victorian lamb processing volumes have contributed to an easing of 12% on the weekly east coast lamb slaughter figures. Total east coast lamb slaughter dropped to 274,096 head last week to sit at levels that are 14% under the seasonal average for this week in the year.

However, it wasn’t just Victorian lamb processors that were underperforming.  South Australian lamb slaughter saw a massive 54% slide in numbers to see just 20,909 head sent to meat works last week. This places the current level of lamb slaughter in SA 62% below the seasonal average, according to the five-year trend.

Tags

  • Slaughter
  • Processing
  • Sheep
  • Lamb
  • Cattle