Drop in sheep crossing the Nullarbor after high numbers in early 2024

Around 28,000 head of WA sheep and lamb crossed the Nullarbor between July and September, a clear drop from the first half of this year which recorded the highest numbers since the mass exodus of 2020. Figures from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development revealed 28,121 sheep and lambs passed the Ceduna checkpoint from July 1 to September 30. More than 17,000 sheep were transported in July, 5604 in August and 5164 in September. As of Friday, Meat & Livestock Australia indicators showed WA mutton was sitting at an average price of 228 cents per kilogram carcase weight. The trade lamb indicator was 672 c/kg cwt, light lamb 474 c/kg cwt and Merino lambs 277/kg cwt. The drop in numbers for west-to-east transfers come after the high monthly volumes recorded in the first half of 2024, when well over 720,000 were transported between January 1 and June 30. May had the largest volume of transfers for the year so far, with more than 165,000 head of sheep and lamb crossing the Nullarbor. This marked the highest number of sheep crossing the border since the mass exodus of 2020, when a record of more than 1.9 million head of sheep and lambs trucked across the Nullarbor in 12 months. The mass exodus, which peaked in October and November 2020, came as WA producers sought to offload stock amid ongoing drought, high demand from the Eastern states and big west-to-east price differentials.