Market Morsel: Pre Easter rush
Market Morsel
East coast red meat processing volumes have increased as we head towards the Easter break. Many processors use the opportunity to undertake repair and maintenance while slaughter volumes are reduced.
In the lead up to the holiday period east coast cattle slaughter have lifted 10% from the week prior to record their highest weekly levels so far this year at 95,690 head.
Victorian cattle slaughter is showing the largest percentage lift on the week, up nearly 21%. However, NSW and Queensland have shown respectable gains of 10% and 7%, respectively.
East coast sheep slaughter have shown a remarkable increase in weekly volumes, increasing by 25% on the previous week to report 108.216 head. This is the first time this season that weekly sheep slaughter has moved above the five-year trend. Current sheep processing levels are nearly 10% ahead of the average seasonal trend for this week in the year.
Most of the lift in sheep slaughter was recorded in Victoria with numbers up by 55% compared to virtually no change in NSW sheep slaughter volumes over the week.
East coast lamb processing levels rose by 11% to see 341,163 head sent to meat works almost matching the seasonal peak seen three weeks ago. Current lamb slaughter volumes are running just 1% above the average five-year pattern for this week in the season.
