PRICES and clearances improved across most sheep and lamb categories on the AuctionsPlus platform last week.

AuctionsPlus sheep and lamb listings jumped 22 percent to 55,471 head and this was supported by strong clearance rates, which contributed to higher prices across most categories.

New season lambs made their presence known, with all but one lot of the 13,322 head offered selling.

Lamb listings for the week increased by 30pc to 34,744 head – up from the 24,439 head offered the previous week. This led to a dearer trend for five-of-the-six indicative categories, with first cross ewe lambs being the only category to fall in average price, to $234/head. Crossbred lambs registered the highest offering again this week, with 14,075 head, as excellent demand resulted in the category achieving a 99pc clearance rate and the average price increasing $8 to $164/head.

Composite/other breed lambs achieved the largest increase in average price, up $42 to $277/head, with a 96pc clearance rate recorded for the 3757 head listed. The top-priced lot this week was a run of 360 scanned empty Primeline ewe lambs that sold for $387 at Cootamundra, NSW.

Merino wether lamb offering increased

A large Merino wether lamb offering was presented, up almost 8000 head to 12,300. The greater offering was met with stronger demand, promoting dearer trends for the category,with the average price increasing $13 to $155, with a clearance rate of 87pc. The Merino ewe lamb offering softened to 1738 head. However, demand for the category remained high, leading to a $33 increase in average price to $255, with a 100pc clearance rate.

Joined ewe offering declined

The joined ewe offering slipped again, down  to 14,506 head. Scanned in-lamb Merino ewes had the largest offering of the joined ewe categories, with 7153 head listed. A 75pc clearance rate was achieved, with the average price increasing $18 to $258/head. The SIL composite/other breed ewe listings were also strong last week and 88pc of the 3166-head offered was sold with an average price of $285, up $1.

Scanned in-lamb shedding breed ewes had the largest average price increase for the indicative categories, rising $135 to $449 for the 813 head listed. This boost in price was promoted by a line of 51 SIL Australian White ewes that made $576 at Trundle, NSW. The ewes averaged 57kg liveweight.

NOTE: Prices as at 5pm, Thursday 22nd July, 2021

Source – AuctionsPlus.