Trade and Merino Lambs surge at Wagga Wagga

Yarding - 47,000

In the wake of last week’s upward trends, market numbers have seen a significant lift. The market has demonstrated stronger performance, buoyed by increased demand from both domestic and export processors. This surge in demand has resulted in a notable increase in prices, particularly for trade and heavy export-weight lambs. The quality of the lambs presented ranged from excellent to fair, with lighter-weight lambs graded as fair to plain. Most trade and heavy lambs were predominantly grain-fed. A key highlight of this week’s sale was the resurgence in prices for trade lambs and Merino lambs, which experienced a marked increase compared to previous weeks. Despite strong interest in heavy lambs, the overall offering was somewhat lacking in weight. Additionally, there was noticeably weak competition from store or feedlot buyers, with only a few active orders in the market.

Trade lambs emerged as the standout item right from the start of the sale, with prices for well-presented grain-fed lambs soaring. Lambs weighing between 20-24 kg fetched prices ranging from $204 to $290, averaging an impressive 1160 cents per kilogram of carcass weight. Meanwhile, those in the 24-26 kg category commanded prices between $280 and $319 per head, with supermarkets dominating this segment. Store lamb prices exhibited fluctuations, influenced by the quality of the young lambs. Better-quality young lambs sold for prices between $170 and $226 per head.

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In the export segment, competition was exceptionally strong as buyers vied to secure their numbers, driving prices up by an average of $20 or more in some cases. Export prices averaged between 1140 and 1158 cents per kilogram carcass weight (cwt), with lambs over 30 kg selling for between $350 and $416 per head.

The offering of mutton was of mixed quality, with many sheep now lacking sufficient fat cover. The market softened for heavy crossbred ewes, with prices falling by $44 to average 692 cents per kilogram cwt. Heavy Merino ewes sold for prices ranging from $182 to $260 per head. Trade sheep were well supplied, selling for between $143 and $178 per head.

https://wagga.nsw.gov.au/business-investment/council-businesses/livestock-marketing-centre