Australia: Southern lamb markets show remarkable resilience to end the year

As the year draws to a close, lamb markets in Victoria and NSW have shown remarkable resilience and growth, with prices significantly increasing across all categories. Buyers have been particularly active, targeting lambs with good fat cover and shape, leading to a notable price surge of $15-$25 a head. This heightened demand has resulted in several sales at Corowa, NSW, and Forbes, NSW, where trade lambs frequently surpassed the 1000 cents a kilogram carcase weight mark. The heavy export lambs, specifically those weighing between 26-30 kilograms, also joined in on the upward trend, averaging a commendable 953c/kg, while regularly topping the 1000c/kg threshold. Interestingly, restockers, despite facing extreme heat across many regions, remained undeterred, aggressively pursuing well-bred second-cross drafts. These lambs, weighing around 18kg, achieved impressive prices, with a top sale reaching $186, averaging 931c/kg. The market in Ballarat mirrored this robust performance, with ...