Western Australia continues to be the main source of live sheep from Australia, despite industry expectations that exporters would turn increasingly to the eastern states for ongoing supplies.

In its latest edition of LiveLink, Meat and Livestock Australia said WA continued to be the driver of exports, accounting for almost all exports in February and 83 percent of shipments since July.

Strong export demand pushing WA prices up

Strong demand from exporters in WA has been evident at the saleyard (Muchea), where exporters are currently purchasing suitable wethers for, on average, $102 a head. Since July last year saleyard export wethers have averaged $87, up 38pc over the same period last fiscal year, MLA said.

After next to no shipments in January, live sheep exports in February were almost 221,000 head, steady year-on-year and valued at $21 million. This takes the fiscal year-to-date total to 1.4 million head, up 8pc year-on-year, MLA said.

The majority of sheep went to the Middle East in February, to markets such as the UAE (39pc), Jordan (25pc), Qatar (16pc), Bahrain (14pc) and Kuwait (5pc). Fiscal year-to-date shipments to Jordan and the UAE are up 25pc and 59pc year-on-year, respectively, at 185,500 head and 152,030 head.

Click here to view the latest copy of LiveLink

Source: MLA