Arabic version: الأمطار تدفع أسعار الماشية الأسترالية إلى مستويات قياسية
According to ABC News, cattle prices surged after heavy rain fell across key production areas in Queensland and northern New South Wales, pushing Meat and Livestock Australia’s benchmark Eastern Young Cattle Indicator beyond 1,000 cents per kilogram.
MLA market information manager Stuart Bull said the market had shifted “to a new gear” following the rain. He said some regions needed a substantial fall, while fewer cattle coming to market also supported prices as restockers and backgrounders competed for stock.
At Roma on Tuesday, weaner steers from the Winton region sold for $7 a kilogram, worth more than $1,900 a head. Dubbo’s saleyard report said strong restocker demand had sparked a market boom, with young cattle selling up to 80 cents per kilogram more than the previous week. Young steers reached $7.40/kg and young restocker heifers sold to $6.50/kg.
MLA’s national processor cow indicator exceeded $4 a kilogram for the first time on record. The national heavy steer indicator also set a new high of $4.77/kg. Analyst Simon Quilty said tight heavy-steer supply had intensified competition between processors and feedlots.
Mr Quilty said feedlots had expanded their preferred steer weights from 450–500 kilograms to between 550 kilograms and almost 630 kilograms, overlapping with processor demand for slaughter-ready cattle. He said Australia’s cattle sector appeared to be starting a herd rebuild and forecast heavy steer prices could rise about 20 per cent to roughly $5.70/kg next year.
