Price decline at Bendigo

Yarding - 35,820

This week saw a slight adjustment in the numbers, with overall yarding exceeding 35,000 head, consisting of 20,970 lambs and nearly 15,000 sheep. The quality of the young lambs remained very good, although there was an increase in lighter weight and smaller store lambs. The market experienced a decline across all grades. Not all the usual buyers were present, leading to a noticeable reduction in offer prices from those who were in attendance. Heavy mutton was the most affected, with larger ewes decreasing in price by $20 to $50 per head. In contrast, leaner trade and lighter sheep held their value better, showing a decrease of $5 to $10 per head. These price drops came after a particularly strong Bendigo market the previous Monday. New season lamb prices were generally weaker, falling by $10 to $20 per head across many categories. However, some of the lighter young store lambs sold at levels close to recent prices, supported by demand measured in dollars per head. There was increased store buying activity at these lower price points.

Select pens of the best quality new season lambs continued to trend above 1,100 cents per kilogram (cwt) to processors, while the majority of trade and heavy lambs fell back to an estimated range of 1,000 to 1,080 cents per kilogram. In dollar terms, a limited run of new season lambs weighing over 30 kg cwt sold for prices ranging from $330 to a top of $365 per head, while heavy trades (26-30 kg cwt) went for $272 to $317 per head. There was a significant number of trade young lambs in the 22-24 kg cwt range, which fetched prices between $224 and $265 per head. Specialist Ballarat finishers paid up to $266 per head for trade lambs to shear, benefiting from better weight and size for their investment this week.

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A lot of fresh young lambs in the 18-20 kg cwt range sold at prices between $180 and $220 per head. The smallest crossbred store lambs ranged from $87 to $160 per head, while young Merino lambs were priced between $101 and $148 per head, with several lots purchased by restockers. Very small Merino lambs sold for $58 to $90 per head. The number of old season lambs continues to decline, and they also faced softer pricing trends. However, the best-presented trades in short-skins sold strongly and remained similar to prices from a week ago.

The buying interest for sheep was notably lower. Heaviest ewes sold for $200 to $256 per head, with exporters reluctant to push prices higher. Trade to heavy sheep ranged from $150 to $190 per head, while the lightest and plainest ewes went for as low as $107. Agents were still selling some smaller and mixed lots of sheep as this report was being compiled. The estimated cost of heavy mutton was between 630 and 700 cents per kilogram cwt, with leaner and lighter sheep priced from 700 to 750 cents per kilogram cwt.

https://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/Services/Bendigo-Livestock-Exchange