STRONG saleyard prices have forced processors to put attractive offers on the table to flush out trade weight lambs coming into winter.
In a sign of how the demand and supply gap is opening up, Coles offered 620 cents a kilogram (carcase weight) through the family-owned Gundagai Meat Processors, at Gundagai, in June and a 10c/kg premium on top of that for Gundagai and the Swifts-owned Brooklyn Abattoir, at Brooklyn, Victoria, in July, for lambs that met the 18 to 25 kilograms (cwt) specifications.
This was thought to be a record contract price.
Elders Wagga Wagga livestock manager Glenn Fordyce confirmed that was the best price he had seen, and it was over and above what was normally offered at this time of the year.
Across all markets quality trade lambs were becoming scarce and restockers inspired by rain had to compete with restocker/finisher lamb buyers at the yards, Mr Fordyce said.
The better competition, on top of a dry season, had meant not many lambs had returned to the paddock, he said.
He said growers generally felt it was a better option to take the money while it was there, instead of feed them during winter to reach heavier weights.
Mr Fordyce said while the contract prices seemed outstanding, similar money was being made in the saleyards.
"I sold 22kg lambs last week that made 620c/kg to 630c/kg, so they're making that in the (live) market, it's just that there's not many good trade lambs about," he said.
"Your export lambs aren't making that sort of money, they are more between 570c/kg and 590c/kg, but that covers 20kg to 32kg."
He predicted the market to stabilise in the coming months.
This would be helped by growers offloading old season lambs to make way for sucker lambs hitting the market in late winter.
The Wagga market had already shown some signs of firming, with last Thursday's prices only a shade dearer.
Typical for this time of year volumes were also down.
"In the big picture I don't see the market getting stronger, it has room to move here or there, but I think we'll see it consolidate around where it is now," Mr Fordyce said.
"The farmers would welcome that. It's like any market, you want to take the highs and lows out of it."
Allan Gray and Company livestock agent Patrick Waters, Cowra, said the trade market in the Central West had consistently been in similar territory.
He too hadn't heard of a contract as dear as Coles' to date, but said it was positive trade lambs were well over 600c/kg at the Friday market recently.
Into winter, Mr Waters hoped the market held firm.
"We don't want it to go silly and have backlash from the consumer; it gets to a certain point and they say, well we're going to go start eating chicken or something cheaper," he said.
"Once you start seeing meat going through at 700c/kg you start to get some resentment from the consumer."
"It's better to be where it's at than being ridiculously dear."
Trade lambs had attracted a premium lately on a cents a kilogram basis due to low volumes and variation in quality, but the export job was also buoyant, he said.
"Around Cowra our numbers are starting to run out," he said.
"It's the time of the year, plus coming off a pretty dry season, most of our farmers would be getting to the end of their run (of lambs)."
Mr Waters said restockers seeking lambs to take home and grow or finish faced regular processor competition at the Friday Cowra sale.
"Restockers are trying to put lambs away, but it's a matter of finding them young enough, there's just not many left," he said.