Monster May for beef exports as China quota looms

The scramble to get beef into China before Australia’s quota is filled for the year, along with continued soaring demand from the US, has pushed total exports to a new monthly record. Australia exported more than 152,000 tonnes of beef in May, the highest monthly volume ever. In fact, all of Australia’s top four markets [...]

Demand swings back towards the sellers favour

The latest Beef Producer Intentions Survey (BPIS), undertaken by Meat & Livestock Australia with results released this week, shows overall positivity in the industry, with 61% of producers surveyed looking forward to the next 12 months. And this was done before the rain which started in late May and has continued this week. The market [...]

Supply slips further as focus moves from light to heavy

The lamb market continued to experience good support this week, with the exception of light lambs, which are now the only category sitting lower in price than they did a month ago. Mutton numbers decreased and the national indicator held just shy of firm, which could have been an indication of what was available rather [...]

Lotfeeding sector keeping pace with booming beef production

The latest data from the lotfeeding sector, as well as ABS livestock production figures, continues to reflect the now firmly cemented importance of the sector to the cattle industry in Australia. Records for capacity and turn-off were set yet again, and the annual average number of cattle on feed has now eclipsed the 5 million [...]

Rain ramps up restocker activity

This week the cattle market continued to make up the ground it lost last month, with most indicators back up to where they were at the beginning of April. Cattle yardings were also at their lowest number since then, and their lowest this year for a non-public holiday impacted week. Some good rainfall across a [...]

Mutton market breaks new ground

The rain is still falling in southern NSW as I write this, so it could be a touch premature to forecast how the sheep market will respond, but as it has been just over 12 months since we witnessed the biggest weekly increase in the National Mutton Indicator on record, it is a good opportunity [...]

Lambs on feed lead competition

Sheep and lamb prices historically tend to trend higher at this time of year, but the market headed in the opposite direction this week. Of course, on average prices remain elevated, as does lamb supply, but both were in the red week-on-week. Sheep supply too continued to tighten, with mutton bucking the trend and lifting, [...]

Slow start for live cattle despite Indonesian market resilience

Cattle live export numbers showed improvement in April as expected, rising above the five-year-average for the month, but year-to-date numbers are still at one of the lowest points they have sat in at least the past 25 years. Demand from Indonesia, the primary market, ramped up significantly last month, and that destination’s market share for [...]

Decade high slaughter doesn’t dampen market

The cattle market responded positively to lesser throughput and areas of rainfall this week, with prices lifting right across the board. Slaughter has remained historically high, above 160,000 head, for the past three weeks, further indicating good market sentiment as prices keep above year-ago levels. Cows and heifers had the most upward momentum across all [...]

Sheep slaughter falling short of forecasts

We’ve been hearing about the short supply of sheep and lamb for some time, but with a third of the year now gone, we can get a gauge on how many have already gone through the production system, and what that might mean for the rest of 2026. So far this year, national sheep and [...]

Back to the paddock demand lifts light lambs

There was a clear divide between buying types this week, as most indicators remained fully firm to higher with the exception of heavy lambs and mutton, as the short week in some states saw sheep supply lighten off and processors seemingly take their foot ever so slightly off the gas. Restockers, however, haven’t gone into [...]

Supply starts to outpace cow demand

High herd numbers and less than ideal seasonal conditions in parts of the country, teamed with seasonal ramping up of activity post-wet season, has meant cattle turn-off has increased substantially in the past two months. Nationally, Australia had the largest monthly yarding of cows on record in March, and Meat & Livestock Australia are now [...]