EYCI achieves new high

Meat and Livestock Australia marketing insight analyst Robert Barker said cattle prices across Australia picked up “very sharply” in the past week, following heavy rains in NSW and Qld.

“Prices are starting to come back up to the highs we saw a few months ago,” he said.

The lift in prices has been attributed to the recent rain events along the eastern seaboard, which caused lower numbers of cattle in at key markets.

Mr Barker said, in some cases, cattle would not have been able to access the market, while in others, people may be holding on to try and get cattle to weight.

“In some areas the rain has been enough to entice producers to keep heifers and cows on for another season that might have otherwise been sold going into winter,” he said.

He said the cattle kill had been down all year, partly in response to the drier season leading to herd reductions in past years.

“Cattle slaughter is down 16 per cent to 17pc on the same time last year,” he said.

“That’s in-line with what was predicted by the MLA.

“At this stage we are pretty well on-track for an overall 15-20pc decline in slaughter.”

Mr Barker said on-the-hook prices had also lifted 10-20c/kg this week, which gave a good indication prices should remain strong. 

All major NSW and Qld indicators were pushed to the highest level recorded so far this year.

Elders national livestock manager Chris Howie said the the cattle price had seen a lift of 25-60c/kg in most markets.

He says prices may stay high for the next month, then it’s likely some of the volatility of the past few weeks will leave the market.

“The past two weeks were a volatile market as we jumped up a level on back of rain event,” he said.

“We’re at new levels at present, but it won’t stay at these levels for an extended time. Once we get the initial rain spike out of the way, it will settle.”

But he said they should still remain relatively high with low numbers expected throughout winter.

“Numbers will be in short supply until spring,” he said. “We normally see the market start to ease back halfway through September.

“It’s not unique – it happens every year but this year was particularly bad as the season finished so early, there weren’t the number of cattle available.”

Mr Howie said the high prices and shortage of heavy cattle were putting pressure on processors.

He said there were concerns for those buying in such a high market. He advised producers to be certain about their target market to ensure they were getting the most from their cattle at this time.