AuctionsPlus commercial sheep and lamb listings fell 24% to 59,103 head this week and was met with a 15% rise of the crossbred lamb indicator to $116 and a 49c/kg boost to the AuctionsPlus restocker indicator known as ARLI which is now sitting at 557c/kg.
There was a three percentage point drop in the clearance rate to 46%, however Value Over Reserve rose by $2 to average $7 across all listings.
The results are pleasing in what has been a volatile market in recent weeks.
All lamb categories stayed firm or lifted in an average dollars per head return, with the value of Crossbred Lambs as well as Composite/Other Breed Lambs the standout, increasing by $16/head this week to average $116/head. SIL Composite/Other Breed Ewes lifted to average $158/head, a 35% increase from last week, however SM Shedding Breed Ewes dropped an average of $31/head. Interestingly while the SM Shedding Breed Ewes price dropped, it recorded a 75% clearance, well above the SIL Composite/Other Breed Ewes which had a positive price lift this week but just a 53% clearance. This could indicate the Shedding Breed vendors were more prepared to take a lower price, or had to let go of them due to seasonal or other reasons.
Listings significantly fell in NSW, with 13,190 fewer sheep and lamb sold from that state this week. WA re-entered the market, the first time in five weeks, with 1,229 offered. WA vendors have offered just 2,829 head on AuctionsPlus in 2024. Purchases fell in all states apart from SA, which bought an additional 1,327 this week, as well as WA, which purchased 632 head, or approximately half of what the state offered. Processor purchases declined again this week, with just 460 Merino Wethers Lambs snapped up.
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard
Crossbred Lambs registered a 27% smaller offering in head, with prices rising $16 on last week to average $116/head for a 51% clearance. From Griffith, NSW a line of 172 Poll Dorset/Border Leicester/Merino mixed sex Sept '23 store lambs weighing 41kg lwt returned $146/head, or 355c/kg and will travel to a buyer in Cowra, NSW.
The 11,792 Merino wether lambs offered this week was a 23% decrease on last week's auction. Prices responded favourably to the decreased supply, with a $10/head increase compared to last week and a 73% clearance rate. From Brewarrina, NSW a line of 620 Merino wethers August '23 drop and weighing an average of 44kg lwt returned $96/head, or 215c/kg and will travel to a buyer in Jamestown, SA.
4,605 Merino Ewe Hoggets were offered this week, down 25% from last week. Prices were back by $4/head to record an average price of $85/head. Clearance lifted from a low of 24% last week to be 57% this week.
Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, 14th March 2024
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