July 4, 2011

Cattle prices in central west Australia remain steady

Cattle prices in the central west region of Australia have remained steady, as beef producers take a "wait and see" approach to whether the oversupply of cattle in northern markets will filter through.

Daniel Beard, from Forbes, said cattle prices in the central west region of Australia have yet to be affected by the export ban to Indonesia, despite a slump in cattle prices at sales during the past three weeks in South Australia and Victoria.

"We just don't see the panic at the moment, there's no real rush," said Beard. "A lot of blokes have still got some good dry feed at the moment. If there's not a lot of rain in the next couple of months you probably will see an influx in cattle, but at this stage a lot of the guys are just happy poking along and when the cattle are right and finished they'll then send them in then."

Beard said it could be a few months before cattle prices in the central west are affected, but an oversupply of stock for export to Korea and Japan could affect the region at some stage.

"There's going to be a bit of leftover coming back onto the domestic market, when that meat comes back onto the domestic market, that will probably be more likely the time that it will affect our southern markets," he said.