June's sheep market update

Highlights for sheep

• Australian lamb prices edged higher throughout the first half of May, before lifting sharply over the final two weeks of the month. The National Trade Lamb Indicator finished May at 985 c/kg. This marks a 16.2 per cent increase month-on-month and is 30.9 per cent above the five-year average. 
• Lamb slaughter rates have remained elevated, as weekly lamb slaughter averaged almost 502 thousand head per week in May. Processing rates generally slow down throughout winter as the market awaits the arrival of new season lambs. This should see slaughter rates start to ease over the coming months. 
• Lamb prices are expected to remain firm throughout June. They may not stay at the record levels seen in the last week of May, but still well-above the five-year average. Supply is expected to slow over the next few weeks which will offer support. However, the ongoing dry conditions will continue to encourage lamb and mutton turn-off which is keeping processing rates up. 
• The National Mutton Indicator (NMI) has had an interesting May. The NMI started at 625 c/kg, its highest point since June 2022, before falling 120 c/kg to the middle of the month. The NMI then regained almost all the losses over the following two weeks, climbing back to 620 c/kg. At this level, the NMI is up 101.5 per cent year-on-year and 36.3 per cent above the five-year average.

Source: Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)

Joe Boyle

Agricultural Analyst

Joe is our Insights specialist for the sheep industry. He hails from a cropping and sheep farm in northwestern Victoria and has studied a Bachelor of Agriculture at the University of Melbourne.