The 180,000 hectare Legune Station near Kununurra, WA, listed with Colliers International, is one of the larger northern cattle properties currently on the market.

The live export market recovery is fuelling renewed confidence in the Top End pastoral market, according to national property valuation firm Herron Todd White.

Annual Australian cattle exports have exceeded one million head for the first time in the past 12 months.

A combination of rising demand from Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia and reduced herd numbers due to drought and depressed market conditions have pushed live export cattle prices to rarely seen heights this year.

Exporters are typically paying around $2.45/kg liveweight for feeder steers in Darwin with some select lines or consignments needed to fill final orders fetching $2.50/kg or more.

That compares to prices of $1.80c/kg in July.

Since that time a 320kg live export steer in Darwin has increased in value by $150-$200/head to around $750-$800/head.

In its latest monthly property market report, Herron Todd White says returning confidence in the NT pastoral market is being sustained with continued negotiations underway to purchase at least two medium to large scale cattle stations in the Top End.

“Although there have been no additional sales this month, we are aware of a couple of reasonable offers and several inspections of stations that are being actively marketed and one or two that are quietly on the market,” the report notes.

“This confidence is against the background of a record number of cattle exported through the Port of Darwin in the 2014 calendar year.”

The rise in live export cattle prices over the past four months is also causing a resetting of values for herds included in northern property sale negotiations.

“We’re seeing inventory values on the cattle on stations in the Territory increase by at least $150 $200 per head,” Colliers International’s Rawdon Briggs said.

“So if you multiply that out by the numbers associated with some of these property sales, vendors are quite right in their thinking that the market is resetting to moderate levels not seen for many years.”

Mr Briggs said the prospective opening of a new feeder and slaughter cattle export market to China, and the imminent signing of a Free Trade Agreement with China, is likely to ensure the NT property market remains strong for the remained of 2014 and into early 2015.

“The Colliers International Agribusiness National team has been on several teleconferences in the last week with inbound groups from the Middle East and China with particular focus on securing considerable interest in Northern Territory land and herd assets,” he said.

“Our team will be inspecting in the NT with these companies looking to take considerable live export property and herd positions before the wet season closes in for 2014.”