Third week of lamb price cuts at factories

The downward trend in lamb prices continued this week at the sheepmeat factories. Quoted prices came back as much as 20 cents/kg, in a third consecutive week of price reductions, with base quotes slipping to a 520-535 cents/kg range. Most processors quoted at the lower end of this scale, offering 520 cents/kg plus the relevant quality bonus payments.

Sheep farmers says the supply remains tight, and that processors have to pay substantially more than they are quoting to get sufficient supply. Reports from some areas suggest that up to 30 cents/kg over the base quote is being paid this week for lambs. However, the downward trend has been reflected this week in the trade at the marts, where the demand was reported to be good for quality lots, but prices were easier overall than in previous weeks.