Export to help support more sheep demand

Livestock agents expected to see slightly higher prices for mutton throughout the first few months of the year but a diminishing key market and processing delays has meant returns have been reduced.

Elders Dublin stock agent Matt Ward said mutton returns were certainly "not bad" but could be better.

"About 12 to 18 months ago, mutton was being exported to China in large volumes but obviously that has diminished," he said.

"The slowing of many parts of the sector has and will continue to impact prices going forward."

With a flush of mutton expected from the Mid North and West Coast expected to arrive from April to June, Mr Ward said, prices would probably remain back at that time, despite reduced numbers on the market.

"In particular, the SA pastoral districts have been battling bad seasons and there are simply not the numbers of mutton around as there would have been in the past," he said.

This week, the mutton job was very cheap, according to Nutrien Ag Solutions Riverton agent Glenn Keast, but looking at the five to 10 year average, prices were still "sensational".

It has really been a perfect storm in the past few years, Mr Keast says.

"After record highs for young ewes, people changed their buying behaviour and began sourcing older ewes," he said. "We now have an interesting landscape that has producers holding onto older ewes because the cost to replace is so high."

But Mr Keast said this would most likely not translate to a price rise in the coming months because of reduced numbers coming through the system.

"Realistically, prices for all sheep have almost been too high - it was a bit of a false economy," he said. "We are seeing a more realistic value on mutton and lamb at the moment - which might take a bit of getting used to."

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Major SA selling centres had mutton prices fall away in the past week, with most averages dipping to just above $5 a kilogram.

Average prices at Naracoorte were the highest at $5.45/kg, while at Mount Gambier it was back to $5.20/kg and the SA Livestock Exchange at Dublin was just $4.76/kg.

Nutrien Ag Solutions Jamestown agent Shannon Jaeschke said mutton prices had fluctuated with "everything" going on but in the past week or two, demand had risen slightly, helping prices to not fall away entirely.

"There is so much going on in the sector but we are seeing movement, in particular the export market," he said.

"The market lull in the past couple of weeks is a sign that the market is difficult to read but there is room for the mutton job to move as large export companies begin to take on stock again."

Meat & Livestock Australia's National Mutton Indicator showed prices at the back end of last year slightly recovered after a dip to $5.50/kg in November - its lowest point throughout all of 2021.

In early December, it rose to $6.36/kg and then fell away again slightly at the end of the month.

But as 2022 selling got under way, the national indicator showed averages slipped to $5.96/kg but rose to $6.21/kg in mid-January.

Improvement did not hold when February came around, with the national indicator finishing on $5.86/kg this week.

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