AuctionsPlus Weekly Sheep & Lamb Summary - Week ending Friday 23rd December 2022
The final commercial AuctionsPlus Sheep and Lamb sale for 2022 was a largely subdued event, with only 34,385 head offered for the week – down 68% from the previous week. A series of factors contributed to the reduced offering, including the recent run of dry weather, allowing producers to add some finish to lambs, along with the traditional slowdown in activity as the holidays period nears.
As has been the case for much of the second half of 2022, it was a very hit-and-miss market, with selective buying driving the final value over reserve to $39/head, while the clearance rate dropped on last week to only 40%. The subdued, even dull, nature of the lamb market in 2022 has been plagued by the wet conditions, lack of finish on lambs and mixed restocker demand – with prices back to their lowest levels in over three years.
Looking into early 2023, the accepted wisdom is that there is plenty of lambs playing “catch-up” in paddock across eastern Australia, with a traditional summer period expected to see ample supplies hitting the market in early Autumn. With this, the price path for the first half of 2023 may be very similar to late 2022, albeit with the quality of lambs anticipated to be much higher.
With the reduced offering, price trends were very thin this week. Making up almost a third of the sale, at 11,855 head, the crossbred lamb category managed to stay relatively steady – averaging $126/head, slipping only $1 on last week. The clearance rate at the immediate end of the sale reached 48%, with post-sale activity expected to lift it towards 60% by Thursday.
Only 1,255 Merino wether lambs were offered for the week, with the comparatively high 73% clearance rate helping prices to jump $40 on last week, to average $120/head. In contrast to the high clearance rate for Merino wether lambs, only 12% of the 2,615 Composite/other lamb offering sold during the auctions, averaging $146/head.
The sheep sale was a very mixed event, with NSM Merino ewes making up the largest portion of the market, at 3,656 head. Buyer demand was patchy, with the offering selling to a 36% clearance rate, averaging $173/head – up $21 on last week. NSM Merino ewe hoggets averaged $18 lower for the week, at $172/head, for the 2,656 head offered, while NSM first cross ewes averaged higher, at $254/head.
AuctionsPlus first Commercial Sheep and Lamb sale for 2023 will be held on Tuesday, 3rd January.
Note: Prices as at 5pm, Tuesday 20th December 2022