Sheep Industry News May 2024

demand for the product. And tighter supplies should continue to support prices in the coming weeks. On the trade front, the monthly lamb import data for Febru ary was released on April 5. Lamb imports for the first two months of the year are up 29 percent (9.9 million pounds) com pared to last year. Australian-sourced imports are up 33 percent and New Zealand lamb imports are up 23 percent. Imports do tend to increase leading up to Easter, indicating that March imports might be expected to be ahead of last year, as well. The draw down in cold storage stocks this year compared to last year suggests some positive lamb movement. The increase in imports coupled with increased domestic lamb production during the first quarter of the year makes the price gains even more impressive. WOOL The same demand shifters discussed above for lamb apply to wool – and any other product. Currently, U.S. GDP growth is the fastest among developed economies, so the slow economic growth in the rest of the world is likely impacting finer wool prices. As of early April, wool prices have declined in each of the last three weeks across almost all micron levels using the East ern Market Indicator price in U.S. dollars. The finest – 17 and

18 micron – wools have declined by about 5 percent in the last three weeks, while other microns have declined 3 to 4 percent. The total number of bales offered for sale is little changed in March of this year compared to March 2023. The just more than 44,000 bales offered during the last two weeks in the Aus tralian market were the most since the second sale week of the year during the week of Jan. 19. To wrap it up, lamb prices have been largely above a year ago in the face of greater supplies during the first quarter. Demand – driven by broader economic conditions – will be key to lamb and wool prices in coming weeks and months.

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May 2024 • Sheep Industry News • 7