Sheep Industry News December 2021

topped $1,000 per cwt. its weekly gain has slowed. In October, the reinstated weighted average lamb carcass price averaged $533.94 per cwt. across all weight classes. The carcass report has not been reported since early 2017 due to confidentiality concerns. In early 2017, the weighted average carcass price averaged $234 per cwt. LAMB CONSUMER SPEAK OUT The Midland Marketing report in October to the American Lamb Board holds insights for expanded American demand growth. The report revealed that lamb’s price is a concern among lamb consumers. Nearly half of consumers say lowering package prices would encourage them to purchase more lamb. Further, 50 to 60 per cent of the less frequent lamb consumers cite “lamb is too expensive” as a barrier to buying more lamb. Price is the largest barrier to moderate and light lamb purchas ers. Fifty to 60 percent of light and moderate lamb consumers report lamb is too expensive. Lower package prices was cited by about half of those lamb consumers unlikely to choose lamb. A concern over less competitive pricing coupled with observations over country of origin mean that selling American’s lamb story might not be as effective to promoting American lamb demand as once thought. Instead, lamb’s quality, consistency and convenience might be more important demand drivers. The research revealed that the heavy lamb consumers are not choosing American lamb. Fifty-two percent of all domestic lamb consumers surveyed say they are aware of the country their lamb is from, and 38 percent do not know. Seventy-eight percent of heavy lamb consumers report knowing the country of origin, and yet, 46 percent of this group of consumers prefer lamb from other countries. Further inspection reveals that heavy lamb consumers are 71 percent male and eating more of all proteins, coined “Protein Progressives." The timing of the consumer survey in August 2021 might reflect

the determinants of American versus imported lamb in order to improve targeted marketing.

COARSER WOOLS SEE SOME LIFT The Australian Eastern Market Indicator averaged Australian 1,340 cents per kg clean in October, down 1 percent monthly and up 22 percent year-on-year. In U.S. dollars, the EMI posted $4.48 per lb. clean, down one-third a percent monthly and up 26 percent from a year ago. While the EMI rebounded from COVID-19 – its October average was 95 percent of its October 2019 value. The EMI in U.S. dollars remains 26 percent lower than its October 2018 value. In the first week of November, while all other microns dropped week-to-week, the 26 micron crossbred Australian wool saw a lift at auction. Broad crossbred lost about half of its value since 2019. Ac cording to Australian Farm Online National in early November, the crossbred sector in Australia's wool market bounced back strongly from a 12-month low, with reports indicating that demand for wool to be used in Chinese uniform orders was the driver. China ordered wool for its uniforms with the intent of blending medium Merino and finer crossbred. “These micron categories have been extremely cheap in relation to the medium/fine Merino categories and also offer the prospect of The Australian EMI for wool is forecast to average 1,390 cents per kilogram clean for Australia’s 2021-22 season, up 16 percent from 2020-21, according to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in September. ABARES reported that the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, strong global economic growth and higher oil prices are expected to drive demand for natural fibers in 2022. Stronger prices in the spring of 2022 would be beneficial to help move the carryover stocks of wool remaining on American farms. delivering hard wearing cloth," Farm Online reported. Australia classifies crossbred wool as 25 to 32 micron.

a back-to-basics mentality of enjoying meat brought about by COVID-19. This might explain why demand attributes such as local, animals humanly- and envi ronmentally-sustainably raised received lower marks. It is recommended that the same metrics surveyed in August are tracked closely in future research. In 2015, lamb imports passed the 50 percent mar ket share point of total United States lamb availability: half of the available lamb was domestic, the rest was imported. In 2019, that share edged passed 55 percent, closer to 60 percent in 2020 and is esti mated to top 65 percent in 2021. The survey results suggest that country of origin is not enough to differentiate and promote American lamb. Consumers want flavor, quality and value. It would be interesting to see whether retail scanner data differentiated by country of origin could help define

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