Australia's quarterly lamb slaughter hits record high

Data analysed by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) also shows lamb production records were also broken in the January to March quarter, with 167,263 tonnes up 8 per cent on the previous quarter and 48 per cent on last year.

MLA senior market information analyst Erin Lukey said the higher production levels and reported carcass weights reflected conditions that occurred late last year.

“Across the board, we saw lamb carcase weights rise 5% quarter-on-quarter to 24kg, in line with the five-year average. This is a return to normal after the three-year lows recorded last quarter,” Ms Lukey said. This is partly due to improved weather conditions recorded in the latter months of 2023, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria.

Victoria had its second-highest lamb slaughter on record, after last quarter's record. It also had its highest lamb production for the second year running, while New South Wales recorded an 18% increase in slaughter and a 25% increase in production.

Western Australia also had its second-largest quarter of lamb production on record, as well as its second-largest quarter of slaughter.