Market Morsel: Still on the go slow

Livestock | 19th October 2021 | By Matt Dalgleish

Market Morsel

Weekly lamb slaughter levels in Victoria continue to underperform, despite a lift of  24% on the previous week the lambs processed for the week ending on the 15th October managed just 148,102. This is nearly 50,000 head, or 24%, under the weekly lamb slaughter level that would normally be seen for this time in the season.

The slaughter picture has deteriorated for sheep too in Victoria with numbers easing a further 4% on already soft volumes. Weekly sheep slaughter at Victorian abattoirs registered just 39,778 head, which is about 18% under the five-year average seasonal pattern for this week in the year.

In contrast, NSW sheep and lamb weekly slaughter volumes are both sitting at their respective five-year average levels. The lower demand from Victorian meat works having an impact on sheep and lamb pricing with the Victorian Trade Lamb Indicator dropping by 38 cents from last week to 869c/kg cwt and Victorian Mutton posting a 32 cent fall to 577 c/kg cwt.

Producers in NSW seemingly benefiting from the more active processors there with the NSW Trade Lamb Indicator 3% higher than Victorian prices at 898 cents, meanwhile NSW Mutton sits nearly 6% higher at 609 c/kg cwt.

 

Tags

  • Slaughter
  • Processing
  • Sheep
  • Lamb