Livestock prices fell sharply this week, as cattle and sheep numbers continued to pour into saleyards around the nation.
At Deniliquin on Tuesday, livestock agents reported that "light lambs were treated harshly by buyers" with some small merino lambs selling for as low as $5 each, while the plainest sheep fetched between $8 and $62.
The national mutton indicator, which had been rising steadily since March, thanks to export demand from China, crashed this week by around 20 per cent.
'Reality check'
The cattle industry's benchmark, the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI), is now 48 per cent down on its record high achieved in early 2022.
At the Herefords Australia National Show and Sale in Wodonga, the money on offer for quality bulls was also on the slide.
Ian and Anne Galloway from Cootharaba Herefords in Roma Queensland purchased the top-priced bull at $75,000.
The top price at last year's sale was $130,000.
"We've all seen the boom time and it was a sudden drop, which was a reality check for all of us," Mr Galloway said.
"I haven't sold many cattle as yet. I'm waiting for a bit of a lift in the market and I think that will come.
"Our biggest challenge is our meat companies are having trouble getting staff, so the whole industry has flattened off a bit."
Prices dropping under weight of supply
Meat and Livestock Australia's senior market analyst, Ripley Atkinson, said increased supply over two consecutive weeks was the major reason behind prices falling.
“Supply is the driving factor, and sustained numbers across all saleyards for two weeks has put prices under pressure," he said.
"After some strong seasons, numbers on farms have improved and buyers don't need to compete as heavily to access stock. They can be more selective."
In the cattle market, the previous week's national yarding was the highest since November 2020.
Mr Atkinson said demand from export markets remained very strong, though, with volumes of beef, lamb, mutton, and goat meat all up on this time last year.
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