No West young man

Market Morsel

After a good start to 2023 with over 100,000 head of sheep sent in live export shipments in January there were virtually no flows during February. In January some of Australia’s top destinations for live sheep were performing well with Kuwait taking 48,165 head,  and Jordan taking 16,745 head. Israel, which can run a bit sporadically even started the year with a bang taking 23,250 head.

However, February saw the market dry up with no export flows leaving Western Australian ports. Just 408 sheep were transported via air from the eastern states, compared to the 99,160 head that left Fremantle in January. Since 2019 the proportion of live sheep exiting the country from WA is more than 98% of the trade and 2023 has started with similar proportions of live sheep coming solely from the west.