A boost to lamb prices at big selling centres such as Wagga Wagga and Carcoar has resulted in a 25 cent a kilogram lift to the NSW Trade Lamb Indicator in the past week.
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The indicator was on 718c/kg just before the King's Birthday long weekend, which was also more than 50c/kg higher than the same time a month earlier.
A big portion of the contribution to the indicator in the past week has been at the heavier end of the range, from 24kg to 26kg, as buyers pick up the quality pens before winter really starts to affect quality and supply.
The supply of lambs dipped by 9050 head at Wagga on Thursday for a yarding of 34,000 head.
This meant buyers, right from the start of the sale, competed for pens with renewed vigour. Meat and Livestock Australia reported prices were $10 to $20 dearer than the week before.
"It took a bit of time for them to find their footing, resulting in some sales significantly higher," MLA reported.
Lambs with shorter skins were also a favourite of the buyers and they paid a premium to secure their orders at the sale.
Export competition was strong and MLA reported buyers showed a preference for lambs weighing 26kg to 30kg.
Renewed competition from buyers is expected to continue into this week when sales resume on Tuesday.
Elders Emms Mooney livestock manager Ben Emms, Blayney, forecast in his weekly markets wrap that as supplies started to tighten, there would be buyer strength from the south.
He said there was a drop in supply at Carcoar's weekly prime sale last week and a few more plainer lambs in the market. This reflected some of the winter conditions that were starting to set in across the Central Tablelands.
But he said the market was positive, particularly for the heavier end of the lambs.
"The positive there is that we are getting to those winter months where the supplies of prime stock are really going to shorten up," he said.
"They are going to shorten up in the south, as the south has had it so dry, so that's where we are going to see the strength come from over the coming months."
The drive to fill lamb export orders was also unlikely to wane in light of another month of record shipments during May.
MLA global supply analyst Tim Jackson said 36,703 tonnes (shipped weight) of lamb was exported during May and that makes it the highest volume to be shipped by Australia for a single month.
"The US continues to be the largest market for Australian lamb, followed by China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region," he said.
Breaking down the figures from the federal Department of Agriculture, the US took 8465t of lamb, while China's total was 5219t.
Mr Jackson said the increase in total export volume had led to a diversification in markets.
"For example, exports to Iraq have increased fivefold from last year to 1386t, becoming Australia's eighth largest lamb market in May," he said.
"As Australian exports maintain a strong pace, it will present opportunities to develop market share both in Australia's traditional key markets and emerging markets."
