The lamb market has almost completed its transition from old stock to new-season suckers, with prices continuing to soften in the past seven days.
Centres from Ballarat and north into NSW are now yarding new-season lambs, albeit in smaller numbers in the south due to the cold and wet spring conditions.
Heavy sucker lambs off pasture and additional feed ration weighing 30-32 kilograms carcase weight sold from $295 a head and to a top price of $315 at Wagga Wagga, NSW, last week.
Based on Meat & Livestock Australia's National Livestock Reporting Service (NLRS) data, these young lambs have generally been working out between 920-931 cents a kilogram cwt.
So far buyers have adjusted their skin values from $9 to $11, with fears skin values will decline as production improves further south in Victoria.
These new-season lambs are offering buyers the best carcase weight value, with old-season lambs deteriorating as tail-end drafts are cleared out at all major selling centres.
Another big price adjustment came late last week for all mutton categories.
Looking at the big picture mutton is struggling to find shipping containers, according to a major buyer.
Some mutton is taking up to three months to arrive at its overseas destination.
In a bigger yarding of 14,000 sheep at Wagga Wagga, rates dipped a further $10-$30 on the previous sale to average 515-565c/kg cwt.
Lamb prices showed mixed price trends in opening markets on Monday.
At Bendigo's market it was hard going with rates fluctuating on the account of quality and reduced buying competition.
Domestic processors set the pace with some exporters still quiet or not operating at all.
The NLRS said domestic buyers supported the freshest-presented new-season lambs over plainer types with drier skins.
Prices firmed as the sale progressed selling either side of last week's rates.
Lambs weighing 21-24kg sold from $190-$235 to average 877-903c/kg cwt.
Heavy export lambs took a hit and slipped in price by $15-$20 to average 853-923c/kg cwt.
Restocker competition from Ballarat and north-east Victoria kept a floor in trade weight lambs under 24kg cwt.
Trade weights back to the paddock sold from $170-$238.
At Corowa, NSW, trade lambs came off the boil by between $5 and $7 and averaged 887c/kg cwt.
Extra heavy lambs 26kg cwt-plus were met with weak competition and slipped $9 to $18, making from $228-$270.
The Ballarat lamb market held its form gaining momentum as the sale progressed.
Trade weights sold $7 dearer while heavy lambs were unchanged and averaged 950c/kg cwt.
- Leann Dax is an NLRS market reporter.