Lamb lovers may have to pay more for their favourite meat as prices climbed across Australia's eastern seaboard late last week.
It comes as Meat & Livestock Australia's Trade Lamb Indicator surged 71 cents a kilogram carcase weight week-on-week.
The impressive price spike is a combination of factors, including a shortage of heavy-export lambs and stronger demand from domestic processors.
Tight supplies of new-season lambs and favourable seasonal conditions have encouraged some producers to retain lambs to value-add and turn 22kg lambs, as an example, into extra-heavy lambs.
The Wagga Wagga, NSW, lamb market reached a high last Thursday, with lambs weighing 35 kilograms cwt selling to a top price of $270 a head.
It was the highest price recorded at the Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre for almost 12 months.
Shorn and heavy young lambs were the focal point of the sale, with buyers actively pursuing the heaviest pens.
The next run at the sale, lambs weighing 26-30kg, made from $175-$218.
This was also well above the average price.
Trade lambs were in high demand, topping at $195, and driven by the limited supply of quality lambs across the state.
The market was $20-$30 dearer compared to the previous week, reflecting the strong competition among buyers.
Upon market openings in Victoria and NSW, a continuation of significantly stronger trends was the order of the day, marked by an increase in prices ranging from $20-$30.
In Bendigo, heavy lambs reached a peak price of $220, averaging 589c/kg cwt, according to MLA's National Livestock Reporting Service.
Lambs weighing 26-30kg fold from $180-$219.
Furthermore, trade-lamb prices experienced a significant upswing, with some reaching 700c/kg cwt, even amid concerns about their borderline fat cover.
In western Victoria on Monday at Hamilton, the count of lambs exceeded twice the previous number, reaching 34,989 head.
The majority of the offering comprised trade and lightweight lambs, with limited overall weight.
Notably, heavy trade lambs experienced heightened attention, experiencing a substantial surge of $25, reaching 637c/kg cwt.
Heavy lambs were relatively scarce, fetching prices between $160-$180.
There were strong price surges at the Ballarat lamb sale amid increased numbers.
Prices soared by $10-$30 with bidding like a pile on at the top pens.
This propelled the cost for heavy trade and heavy lambs to 730-60c/kg cwt, with select sales reaching an impressive 800c/kg.
Notably, shorn lambs attracted premium prices, adding to the overall success of the sale.
- Leann Dax is an NLRS market reporter.
