Australian lamb exports suffer from the lack of heavy lambs
The lack of quality heavy lambs in the market is fueling the prices for Australian and New Zealand lamb reports Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).
China and the US are leading the way as the largest recipients of Australian sheepmeat in 2018 as the exports are favoured by a soft Australian dollar and an increased demand in the international market.
Australian sheepmeat exports to the US have continued to expand, up 8% year-on-year, with lamb and mutton exports climbing 5% and 19%, respectively. However, limited availability of heavy categories saw lamb exports to the US in August ease 16% year-on-year.
The US is still the most valuable market for Australian sheepmeat but China has become the No.1 destination in terms of volume.
The American market is also confronted with a higher domestic production (37,600 head/week in August) and a stronger competition from other types of meat (chicken and pork) that are targeted by retaliatory measures in the trade wars.
US farmgate lamb prices have declined in recent weeks; however, the price of imported product remains historically high, underpinned by the high cost of lambs in both Australia and New Zealand. US retail outlets will be seeking lower prices in order to move through surplus supplies, as pushing more lamb through retail channels at elevated prices remains a challenge. Loin chops featured heavily at retail in August, accounting for 44% of all lamb features, and prices averaged 8.4% above year-ago levels, according to an MLA market analysis.
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