New Zealand

Less livestock available in NZ after strong December quarter processing

A forecast made by Beef + Lamb New Zealand�s Economic Service (B+LNZ) says that dry conditions and the high prices for lamb, mutton and beef reported during the December quarter of the 2017-2018 season were the factors responsible for the high processing volumes from that period. B+NLZ expects that the remaining livestock available for processing for the rest of the season will be at the lowest level reported in the last five seasons.

Posted on Mar 01 ,06:26

The average value per tonne for lamb, mutton and beef exports were at record or near record levels in the December quarter.

The season runs from October to September, with peak processing usually occurring in the March quarter.

B+LNZ forecasts the total number of lambs available for processing in 2017-18 will be up 1.3% on the previous season. However, the number processed in the December quarter was up 13%, leaving 2.1% fewer lambs for the remainder of the season compared to 2016-17.

B+LNZ estimates the number of sheep available for processing in the January to September period of the 2017-18 season is down 17% compared to the previous season. The total number of sheep available for mutton in 2017-18 is forecast to be down 6.0% on the previous season. However, 15% more were processed in the December quarter, which is a record for the period.

The total number of cattle available for the 2017-18 season is estimated to be even with the previous season but down 3.7% on the five-year average.

However, 15% more cattle were processed in the December quarter, which means 4.7% fewer cattle are available for the rest of the season, says Andrew Burtt, Chief Economist at B+LNZ.

“An increase in the number of cows and bulls processed – up 33% and 23% respectively – contributed to the higher number of cattle processed in the December quarter.

“The dry conditions for some dairy-producing regions drove some of the increased cow processing as farmers managed their feedstocks for the rest of the summer.

“The dry December quarter brought forward some of the bull processing for the same feed management reasons. The number of bulls processed has been generally increasing in recent seasons.”