Australian Livestock Markets Under Pressure

DONALD - Jul 5/02 - SNS -- Australia's internal livestock market appears to becoming under pressure, judging from recent online auction results and selling trends by the country's producers, believes Dean Lemmich of AuctionsPlus Pty Ltd., an online auction mart for Australian cattle and sheep.

In his weekly market review, Lemmich said, "The cattle market appears poised for a major downward correction, given the works closures due to them having no US entitlement left, and to complicate matters, a lot of over quota boxed beef is yet to be cleared into inferior export markets as well as the domestic market. Pressure on the domestic market is intense because of this and the unusually high numbers being yarded due to drought."

Commenting on the quota situation, Meat and Livestock Australia says, "Exporters that have already used their quota entitlement have three options: pay the 26.4% out of quota tariff; buy quota from another entitlement holder or apply for a portion of the 30,000 (metric) ton discretionary provision. However, applying for the discretionary provision will not be a near term option -- this pool will not be available until after 1 August."

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