These 30kg Merino ewe lambs from Kingston, SA, made $166.
Merino ewe lamb numbers registered an astounding jump from last week – up 443%, as South Australian lambs hit the market, accounting for 90% of the category.
Despite the category easing considerably in $/head terms, to average $163/head, c/kg prices held firm at 596c/kg – 9c up from last week, indicative of the much lighter SA offering of lambs across the category.
Clearance levels increased to 92% for the category, with most of the South Australian offering purchased by interstate buyers – 68% travelling into key NSW restocking regions including the Central West and Northern Tablelands, with 28% headed to Victoria.
Mixed results were seen across the six lamb categories last week, as the new season lamb offering totalled 102,704 head.
The two largest categories, crossbred lambs and Merino wether lambs accounted for 25% and 18% of the market, with clearance levels robust, as prices increased for the third consecutive week.
Merino wether lambs saw clearance rates drop from last week, to 82%, however demand continued to underpin strong prices, as the category averaged $147 – up $4/head from last week.
First cross ewe lambs totalled 13,172 head – up 48% from the previous week. Increased numbers saw clearance levels reduce slightly to 80%, while the average price was back $35 to $274/head.
The top price for the category returned $366/head and consisted of 115 Apr/May ’21 drop lambs weighing 48.4kg liveweight from Central West NSW.
-AuctionsPlus