![\"Graph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a81366414e2fd0a910948db1aa37dcfe.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nSheep have never been more expensive in Australia than right now, with the national mutton indicator surging beyond 900 cents a kilogram for the first time.<\/p>\n
At Wagga Wagga on Thursday, the local market report said sheep prices reached “new heights across various classes, with many in the yarding surpassing the 1,000c\/kg [cwt] mark”.<\/p>\n
“Heavy ewes sold for prices ranging from $255 to $396 a head, averaging 1,009c\/kg carcass weight,” the report said.<\/p>\n
At Dubbo on Monday, a pen of crossbred wethers topped the sale, fetching an incredible $392 each.<\/p>\n
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The national mutton indicator surged this week, going beyond 900 cents a kilogram for the first time. (ABC Landline)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the national restocker lamb indicator reached a new high during the week of 1,278c\/kg (cwt) and the national online lamb indicator hit a record $257 per head.<\/p>\n
For context, just three years ago the national mutton indicator was hovering slightly above 100 cents a kilo and some farmers were shooting sheep<\/a> rather than losing money by sending them to market.<\/p>\n What’s driving the record highs?<\/p>\n Rain and mild weather has put a lot of confidence in the market this month.<\/p>\n There’s also strong demand and plenty of buyer competition, but arguably the biggest reason for the price surge is the lack of numbers.<\/p>\n “I’ve been told a lot of Tasmanian shearers have run out of sheep at the moment,” market reporter Richard Bailey told the Tasmanian Country Hour.<\/p>\n “That hasn’t happened for more than a decade.<\/p>\n “It comes back to the mutton price because instead of keeping stock, they’re now selling them because they can get so much money for them.”<\/p>\n At Ballarat on Tuesday, the local market report said it was the smallest yarding for some time, with just 1,592 sheep penned.<\/p>\n It said mutton numbers were limited “in all weights and grades” with sheep fetching an extra $10 a head compared to last week, and some crossbred ewes reaching $344 each.<\/p>\n Meat and Livestock Australia is predicting the nation’s sheep flock will continue to fall. (ABC Landline)<\/p>\n Meat and Livestock Australia says the national flock is at record lows and predicts it will continue to dwindle over the next few years towards 64 million head.<\/p>\n An article in the Land Newspaper this week posed the question: “Where are the breeding ewes for a flock rebuild?”<\/p>\n Wool sales lift by $675 million<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Australia’s wool market eased in the final week of the 2025\/26 season, with the benchmark Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) falling 46 cents to 1,943c\/kg.<\/p>\n The season has ended with wool prices easing, but overall it has been a big year for wool. (ABC Landline)<\/p>\n According to Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), the EMI finished the season 61 per cent higher than last year.<\/p>\n “Although auction offerings were 3.4 per cent lower than the previous season, the total value of wool sold through the auction system increased by $675 million [to more than $2.6 billion], highlighting the strength of the market over the past 12 months,” AWI said.<\/p>\n The wool market has definitely rewarded those who have stuck with merinos this year, but clearly a lot of growers have either left the industry or downsized, with the nation’s wool clip at its lowest level in 100 years.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Graph](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/69d3f42f781e6aa2dce8b83405a6991d.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Wool](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/3228b0a3857394b9bb352ab54eff66f2.jpeg\")
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