Improvement in cattle trade on cards

While cattle numbers are now dropping off in line with the seasonal pattern, figures for the third quarter maintained the improvement in trading recorded earlier in the year, indicating that cattle numbers through the marts for the year are likely to come close to 2000 levels.

Total cattle numbers for the year to date show an increase of 7% on 2002. Adult cattle numbers have increased by 9%, while throughput of calves and weanlings are up 3%. At the end of the third quarter, survey figures compiled by ICOS, the co-op umbrella organisation, showed that the co-op marts were running at within 3% of 2000 levels, which was regarded as the benchmark year for the marts. On the pattern to the end of September, the expectation is that the marts will come close to achieving the sales of 1.7m cattle set in 2000. After taking into account that some rationalisation of marts has taken place since 2000.

and that the increased sales for the final quarter of 2003 may be more modest than for the year to September, the marts are confidently expected to reach or exceed total sales of 1.5 million head for the year.