Cattle pour into yards for final sales of 2023

Cattle yardings fell by 20,615 to 77,881 head last week but that was still the second largest week of the year in terms of yardings, Meat & Livestock Australia's Emily Tan reported.

The week prior recorded the largest national yarding in four years.

Over the past fortnight, some southern prime market centres doubled their yarding sizes.

All indicators have eased as result, with finished cattle holding up the best. MLA data shows processor cows have been the best performing through this period of gushing supply.

The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator sits today at 512 cents a kilogram carcase weight, having dropped 38c in the past week. That is still 41c above where it was four weeks ago.

Despite the easing conditions, prices remain well above October levels and well-finished cattle continued to command a considerable premium, Ms Tan said.

Nutrien's south east region livestock lead Adam Mountjoy said the big numbers flowing in had a real liquidation feel but the fact the market held up reasonably well has provided a lot of optimism for 2024.

"People are buoyed by the fact prices have accelerated quickly and the market hasn't crumbled on the back of the big supply - it indicates there might be a bit of stability to be carried into the new year," he said.

"Certainly in the south, producers are taking hope from northern weather events and the likelihood that grass growing up there will really help the January weaner sales along.

"We're seeing some good weights in calves in the south. Already they are coming in between 330 and 380 kilograms, which means there will be plenty in excess of 400kg in January."

Mecardo analyst Jamie-Lee Oldfield said cattle prices across the board showed plenty of resilience given the "absolute onslaught" of stock that hit the market in the weeks leading into Christmas.

Last week's yardings were more than double the same week in 2022, and 45pc higher than the average yarding for the past two years, she said.

The drop back down predominantly came from Queensland yards, which had increased by as much as 80pc beforehand.

Agents said buyer demand barely backed off during this rush of cattle, a sign of strength in the business going forward.

Outgoing MLA analyst Ripley Atkinson said there was no question the longer-term demand and fundamentals of cattle and beef production for Australia remained exceptionally strong.

He pointed to changing herd dynamics in the United States, a continually growing affluent middle class across the world demanding high quality consistent beef and a resilient domestic consumer prioritising beef in their shopping baskets as three key examples.

The run into Christmas showed how quickly rain could change sentiment in the market and uplift prices, he said.

That meant the market to end 2023 was where it should have been, not the lows it found itself in during October.

Most saleyards will be returning in the first two weeks of 2024. In NSW, Armidale and Yass will kick business off on January 4, while the first Queensland sale will run in Blackall the day before. However, most Queensland saleyards will return the following week.

In Victoria, Leongatha will be the first cab off the rank on January 3, with a bit more of a staggered start from there. In South Australia, it will be Mount Gambier also on January 3.