AuctionsPlus commercial sheep and lamb listings lifted 6% to 57,701 head this week. The larger offering was met with mixed competition as clearance fell by 19 percentage points to 48%. Price Over Reserve increased by $1 to average $7 across all listings.
Crossbred Lamb prices fell by 15% this week, with the crossbred lamb indicator moving from $124/head to $106/head. The AuctionsPlus restocker indicator (ARLI) lifted marginally by 2c to reach 568c/kg. Lamb prices were mixed across different categories with Merino Wether Lamb prices lifting by $14 to reach $85/head across a smaller offering of 11,296 head.
This week there was a large offering of 17,596 joined ewes, which was an 8% increase on last week. Prices were mixed across categories with SIL Merino Ewes averaging $99/head, down $23 from last week.
South Australia had a reduced offering across the sheep and lamb sales with a total of 8,059 head, down from 9,189 last week. Purchasers responded, showing an increased demand in taking 6,928, which was a 78% increase on last week. NSW, VIC and QLD had greater listings than last week. NSW and VIC’s purchases fell by 32% and 62% respectively.
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard
Crossbred Lambs registered a larger offering with 11,442 head, with prices decreasing by $18 on last week to average $106/head for a 48% clearance rate. From Boorowa, NSW two even lines of 400 Jul/Aug '23 drop Poll Dorset/Composite mixed sex lambs, weighing 36kg lwt returned $121/head, or 332c/kg and will travel to a buyer in Barmedman, NSW.
Merino Wether Lambs registered a smaller offering of 11,296 head, a 12% decrease on last week, with prices increasing to average $85/head from $71/head last week for a 70% clearance. From Kingston SA, a line of 420 Merino Wethers, Jun/Jul '23 drop and weighing 28kg lwt returned $42/head, or 152c/kg and will travel to a buyer in Euroa, VIC.
SIL Merino Ewes registered a larger offering with 6,228 head, with prices decreasing by $23 on last week to average $99/head for an 82% clearance. A significant portion of the SIL Merino Ewes came from Broken Hill, NSW this week with 1,940 head offered from one vendor. From this offering two even lines of 380 Poll Merino ewes aged 4.8 to 4.9 years old and weighing 63kg returned $94/head and will travel to a buyer in Mount Jagged, SA.
Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, 18th April 2024
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