LAMB prices returned to a simmer early this week following last week’s sizzling values.
While still high, The Land’s trade lamb indicator slipped about eight cents a kilogram to finish on 696c/kg.
Meanwhile, scattered rain across some NSW regions in the past week have renewed restocker interest in lighter lambs. The Land’s restocker lamb indicator surged to 603c/kg on the back of several week’s of consecutive rises.
It seems the number of lambs going to slaughter have also started to settle.
The weekly eastern states lamb slaughter has finally begun to fall back in line with 2017 levels, according to National Livestock Reporting Service data, while mutton slaughter remains well up year-on-year.
For the past five months lamb slaughter has been much higher than the same period a year earlier.
However, June eastern states lamb slaughter totalled 1.42 million head, which NLRS said was up four per cent year-on-year, though tracking closer to 2017 levels than previously.
Meanwhile June sheep slaughter totalled 290,000 head, up 29pc year-on-year.
Sheep slaughter has remained high this year and the year-to-date total is up 21pc year-on-year.
Average prices for mutton also slipped in the week to 515c/kg, in part due to plenty of supply.