Stable lamb production and a slight decline in mutton production are forecast for 2018 as producers continue to expand their flocks, according to Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) 2018 Sheep Industry Projections.
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MLA’s market intelligence manager Scott Tolmie said that while lamb and sheep slaughter were both expected to drop slightly in 2018 to 22.5 million head and 7.2 million head respectively, carcase weights would increase.
“We are forecasting a slight increase in lamb carcase weights in 2018 which will help offset lower slaughter, resulting in a stable outlook for production at 514,000 tonnes cwt,” Mr Tolmie said.
But he said carcase weights for mutton were expected to ease this year. Combined with the forecast declining slaughter, this was likely to slightly reduce mutton production to 177,000 tonnes cwt this year, Mr Tolmie said.
He said the forecast drop in production and strong international demand should mean good lamb and mutton prices this year.