NATIONAL cattle slaughter fell by 7800 head last week, on the back of widespread rain and its impact on logistics, cattle supply and changing producer sentiment.

The seven-day national kill to Friday reached only 140, 062 head – the smallest weekly tally (public holiday weeks excepted) seen since the traditionally slow January seasonal startup period.

While Butcher’s Picnic holidays at a few sites last week also had some impact on production, weather had the overbearing influence. Last week (yellow line) was down almost 18,500 head on the same week last year (grey line), as can be seen in the graph below.

Weekly kill – 3 year comparison

The decline has come as many beef plants with access to the China export market are seeking to ramp-up production, in readiness for the 1 January release from the current 55pc tariff on Australia’s exports to China imposed since mid-June.

Worst hit in production terms last week were Queensland and New South Wales, where the most significant rain impact was seen.

Queensland lost 7700 head last week compared with the week before – easily its slowest working week this year (again, holiday and seasonal startup weeks excepted) while NSW was down 1250. That was offset marginally by small rises in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

As the weekly slaughter graph shows, there has been a distinct downwards trend in production since week 21 (ending 22 May) when weekly slaughter peaked at 166,500 head.

National saleyard cattle yardings last week fell to 56,500 head, down from 78,000 head a month earlier, mostly linked to seasonal impacts. This week looks like being even lower.

And direct consignment dynamics have changed this week, with some producers who have now received good rain electing to hold cattle back for processing early next year, at heavier weights.

Beef processors all the way from North Queensland to southern NSW have lost production time this week due to weather difficulties in accessing cattle, and the same is likely to happen next week, processors told Beef Central in yesterday’s weekly kill report.

With tighter slaughter cattle supply looking likely for the immediate future, the prospect of early seasonal closures for some processors – especially those more heavily exposed to saleyards buying – has also been raised in processing circles this week, especially as export meat trading conditions are flat, at best.