ALREADY tight lamb supplies were exacerbated by a run of short trading weeks in April according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
MLA’s Meat and Livestock Weekly reports that across the eastern states, the average weekly kill in April was 17 per cent lower than last year, at 310,579 head.
Despite a reasonably strong first quarter, it was therefore not surprising that the Australian lamb exports during April were down 19pc year-on-year, to 17,053 tonnes shipped weight (swt), MLA says. Volumes shipped in the preceding three months of the year tracked well above their five-year averages, while April slipped 3pc below.
This brought lamb exports for the year-to-date to 80,742t, down 3pc from year-ago levels – largely the result of reduced availability.
The eastern states lamb kill for the first four months of 2017 averaged 341,378 head a week – 8pc lower than last year. MLA says it should be noted that these volumes are off the back of very high levels in 2016. To put this in perspective, year-to-date lamb shipments remain 14pc higher than the five-year average for the period.
There has also been a shift in the proportion of chilled and frozen lamb that has left Australian shores so far this year. For the January to April period, the share of higher value chilled lamb dropped to 40pc of the total – the lowest level for this period since 2012. This was predominantly underpinned by a reduction in chilled volumes to the US and the Middle East, and increased volumes of frozen product to Asia.
Despite overall export volumes declining so far in 2017, some markets have maintained a positive position. China and Korea have been the major growth markets for Australian lamb exports for the first four months of the year. Shipments to China were up 29pc year-on-year, to 16,666t, driven by increased volumes of breast and flap (up 32pc, to 11,004t), manufacturing (up 54pc, to 3705t) and neck (up 24pc, to 1686t). Lamb to Korea has surged 81pc to 4294t, with shoulder and breast and lamb consignments more than doubling year-ago levels.
Lamb exports to the EU recorded an 8pc lift for the year-to-April, reaching 3719t. The growth was mainly driven by increases in leg, shank and boneless loin.
After five years of steady growth, shipments to the US for the January to April period have dropped back to 17,817t – down 11pc year-on-year. This is largely due to the reduced pool of Australian lamb in 2017 compared to last year. Year-to-date shipments to the US remain 17pc above the five-year average and in line with the long term anticipated growth trend for the market. Volumes of assorted cuts, leg, shank and shortloin were all lower, while, encouragingly, rack and shoulder exports to the US were higher than the same time last year.
Australian lamb destined for the Middle East in 2017 has declined 12pc from last year, at 19,162t for four months to April – mostly the result of lower volumes to Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. All of the major cuts (carcase, leg, shoulder) to the region were down year-on-year, although rack exports did record a 12pc lift year-on-year.
