FUEL prices and their accumulated impact along the supply chain are for the first time being linked to a big slide in direct consignment slaughter cattle prices seen in the northern half of the country this week.

Over the hooks quotes on both heavy grassfed export steers and cows have fallen by as much as 40c/kg in Queensland since Friday – in some cases over several instalments.

While its impossible to apportion specific blame for that on fuel prices, it is definitely part of the package, Beef Central was told. Other key factors include a substantial surge in supply as more areas in Queensland hit by rain back in February and early March start to dry out, and the rapidly changing dynamics being seen in international meat markets as fuel prices start to impact consumer behaviour (see today’s separate story).

Competitive quotes seen this morning from export processors in Queensland’s southern region are showing 780-800c/kg on grassfed four-tooth heavy ox (790c on some grids for no HGP), back 30-40c on prices seen only a fortnight ago, and 700-710c/kg on heavy cows, back about 30-40c.

That’s as big a change in Queensland grid prices as we’ve seen in this series for at least 18 months. Big export customers like Japan and Korea are now holding back on orders out of Australia, in anticipation of better bargaining terms once Australia’s China quota is filled in coming months.

On top of that, there are now mounting on-costs due to fuel prices, in simply getting the chilled or frozen product onto the wharf, or from the feedlot to the processing plant, plus elevated prices for packaging materials and other inputs. All of that impacts on what processors are prepared to pay for slaughter stock.

In one example seen this week, transporters were quoting $28/head to ship cows from Dalby saleyards to the NH Foods plant at Oakey – a distance of les than 50km. Not that long back, cows could be shipped from Roma for the same price.

The trio of Central Queensland export plants have followed suit, remaining 10-20c/kg behind those rates quoted from the southern region of the state.

Forward bookings on slaughter cattle in Queensland have now gained considerable pace, with some plants now booked solid through to weeks starting the third and weeks of April (priced basis) and space bookings out to the first week of May.

Some Central Queensland plants may be a week less forward than that in bookings, but numbers are said to be coming forward in waves.

Three or four short killing weeks between now and the start of May will only add to congestion, although there’s been a number of Queensland sheds that have scheduled Saturday (or additional weekday) boning shifts in recent weeks to keep pace.

Several Queensland processors say they are still working through a backlog of cattle booked earlier, but put back due to rain, while others are clearly prioritising grainfed cattle that are eligible for the China no-HGP market, before Australia’s 2026 quota fills in the next couple of months. One processor contact anticipates that ‘China priority’ strategy to last another two to four weeks.

Direct consignment rates in southern states are much less impacted than Queensland, with good slaughter types remaining in short supply in some areas. Some grids have not changed at all, opening up a sizeable price gap for the same cattle between Queensland and Victoria.

Whether the current fuel price spiral will allow southern processors to exploit that price gap like they once did is open to question. Reports this week suggest Victorian/southern NSW processors are now much less active in the Queensland market than they were a few weeks ago. However they have not disappeared altogether, with reports of 770c/kg being paid on-farm for grass ox this week, with a dressed weight freight cost to get the cattle home estimated at 70c/kg, or $260 a head.

“Victorian processors are now clearly trying to shop as close to home as they can, given the fuel and freight rates,” one cattle buyer contact said.

In eastern regions of South Australia, best cows are quoted this week at 810c/kg, with four-tooth grass ox 860c, having eased 10c a week earlier. Another SA grid has MSA cows (320-420kg) on 820c, and four-tooth MSA heavy steer 900c/kg.

In southern NSW, cows this week in one grid are 800c and four-tooth grass steers 850c, also back 10c, while another grid that was offering 820c/kg on good quality heavy cows has now withdrawn quotes for the time being.

Slaughter hits season high

Weekly national cattle slaughter recorded by NLRS hit a four-year for the week ending 27 March, at 161,540 head. Extra scheduled shifts in Queensland to catch up on earlier lost time pushed the state’s seven-day kill to a four year high of 82,916 head, up almost 7000 or 9pc on this time last year.

Saleyards following trend

Saleyards prices have also exhibited a softer trend early this week,

Gunnedah sale this morning yarded 6400, with the overall price trend down. Feeder cattle were considerably cheaper, with the steers selling from 374-510c/kg while feeder heifers ranged from 380-430c. Cows were 15-20c cheaper, with score 2s and 3s making 246-331c/kg and prime heavyweights from 340-369c to average 358ckg.

Wagga yesterday yarded 3260, down about 500 on the previous week. Well-finished cattle were notably scarce. Cows made up nearly a third of the total offering, yet not all exporters participated in the sale. Heavy steers and bullocks were limited, which distorted price trends. In the cow sale, quality slipped, particularly with the scarcity of larger heavy cows over 700kg. Heavy cows experienced a 22c drop in price, selling at 365-394c/kg. Leaner cows less than 520kg traded sold from 318-372c/kg.