Post the Anzac Day long weekend has seen most markets improve in supply, although both Mt Gambier and Naracoorte in the south east of South Australia tendered smaller markets.
There has been reasonable rainfall in that area of South Australia, and producers are now rethinking their farming levels.
By the end of last week, the end of April, processors were buying cattle and wanting them home for immediate slaughter. This indicates the decreased level of supply, and with heavy rain across all of Victoria this week, one could expect a supply reduction next week.
All of this interaction has seen prices lift at most sales, for all classes of cattle, despite processors saying meat is hard to sell, both locally and for export.
All of MLA’s market reporters said that quality was very mixed, and in most cases, supplementary and grain fattened cattle supplied most of the quality.
Along with increased demand for feeder steers and heifers, prices improved mostly between 2&10 cents per kilogram liveweight. The EYCI is a good indicator of this as it factors in both trade and feeder prices. At the close of trade Monday the EYCI was 355.75c, a lift of 9c/kg week-on-week.
True vealers are now hard to find, which saw most sell to the trade from 295-325c/kg with some isolated sale to 335c/kg. Restockers paid similar prices for some of the lesser finished vealers, especially lighter weight calves.
For processors to buy high quality steers and heifers they had to bid on the high quality fed cattle. In the Gippsland markets of Warragul and Pakenham, numerous pens of steers and heifers sold from 308-325c/kg lwt. Buyers of feeder cattle, restockers and at times processors, competed strongly for supply. Once again, Wagga Wagga, Monday, supplied a very large supply of these cattle, and over 80pc in total of the vealers, and trade steers and heifers sold between 270&325c/kg lwt.
Despite the difficulties export processors are telling us they are having selling meat, the lack of good quality grown steers and prime bullocks aided a price rise. Grown steers sold from 290-312c, and some very good quality bullocks, 620-690kg lwt, sold from 285-308c/kg lwt. The best of the se was at Leongatha’s Wednesday market.
It was not all total excitement as manufacturing and dairy bred steers and bullocks were firm to marginally dearer. Some very heavy crossbred bullocks sold to 286c/kg, or over $2200 per head.
Despite the downsizing of killing hours, and a works closure, this week, demand for cows has lifted. High quality beef cows sold as high as 258c with most selling from 220-246c/kg.
Even though the 90CL Us grinding beef market is slow, poor quality lean cows sold quite well. A good example is Camperdown market, Tuesday, where few cows sold below 140c/kg. In fact many sold from 165-210c/kg lwt, which is a good result for this pre-weigh sale.
Demand for bulls was softer, although few top quality bulls are being offered to set top prices. Most bulls sold from 210-265c/kg lwt.
