DOMESTIC mutton consumption is rapidly shrinking.
Meat and Livestock Australia figures have Australians eating just 400 grams each of mutton this year, averaged across the entire population.
In a 60.9 per cent decrease on last year’s tallies, mutton utilisation in Australia is this year expected to amount to just 9000 tonnes.
Exports, also, are expected to retract slightly compared with last year, with a view to 135,000t of mutton leaving our shores, compared with 151,000t last year.
But this year’s figures remain an enormous increase on five years ago, in 2011, when Australia exported just 82,000t of mutton. Shipments to Australia’s largest mutton export destination in volume terms, the Middle East, have this year eased by one per cent.
Volumes to China have dipped 24pc.
However, in a turnaround, mutton shipped to South East Asia was up three per cent, to 13,341t. The Australian rolling sheep slaughter tally for this year is expected to trend lower, to 7.8 million head, nine per cent lower than last year.
Mutton prices reflect tighter supply, with the national mutton saleyard indicator at 393 cents a kilogram, an increase of 42pc since January.
