Online WA Consolidation During Isolation

As WA faced some “self-imposed isolation” in the past two years, this certainly wasn’t the case for online livestock producers, with the uptake and listing on AuctionsPlus accelerating in recent years. Blighted by patchy seasonal conditions and lured by excellent prices in the east, WA producers have been increasingly willing to use Australia’s largest livestock selling platform to maximize potential sales in recent years.

In 2021 total WA sheep listings hit 263,001 head, back 74,524 head on 2020’s record year – which jumped 287,834 head on 2019. During the first quarter of 2022, total throughput reached 38,318 head – with a seasonally tighter supply impacting offerings. As represented in the heat map 1 below, much of the purchases in 2022 have remained in WA, with local producers continuing to turn to the online platform for local purchases.

Similarly for cattle, WA throughput has increased in the past few years, albeit not at the step-change levels registered through the sheep and lamb numbers. For the cattle offerings, larger lines out of northern WA have been prominent in several weekly auctions, with total cattle listings for the first quarter of 2022 up 51% on the previous year, at 5,377 head. Throughout 2021, cattle numbers out of WA increased steadily quarter-on-quarter, peaking at 6,032 head in the final quarter of the year. As shown in heat map 2, there are clear regions for cattle offerings out of WA, with the large northern lines offered in the final quarter of 2021 primarily going into central and southern Queensland.

In the wake of 2020’s flood of online listings, WA producers and agents have continued to utilize the online platform. Sheep have registered 19% year-on-year annual growth since 2016, with this jumping up to 28% following 2020. Western Australia cattle listings have remained more consistent since 2016, however a similar spike in listings during 2020 was indicative of online supply rising to take advantage of the then record market prices being achieved in the eastern states.

Following on from 2020, WA producers have continued to turn more consistently to the online platform to both list and purchase stock. In 2021, WA producers secured 39% of the offering, jumping to 70% of purchases in the first quarter of 2022 – reflecting the improved seasonal conditions.

Complementing the increase in online listings from WA has been a rise of accredited assessors for the state. To list stock on the platform, which provides access to a national audience, assessors are required to be assessed by an accredited AuctionsPlus assessor. Since 2016, the number of cattle assessors in WA has increased by 54%, while sheep assessors have risen 71%.

The consistency and uptake in online listings from WA have resulted in a significant increase in the number of unique users from WA utilizing the AuctionsPlus website. Website traffic from WA users has increased 84% since 2017. Furthermore, website traffic data reveals that since 2020 there has been a significant increase in users looking at livestock listings from WA, with WA sheep and cattle views rising by 55% and 54%, respectively (figure 6).