The United States have retained the number one sport as Australia's top export lamb market, and sheep producers are paying attention to the demand.
The latest export data from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) showed attraction for Aussie lamb remained ignited to the US, albeit exports down 7.4 per cent on 2021 figures, despite similar amounts of product being available.
But compared to the five-year average for July, current volumes are 36pc higher than the seasonal average pattern.
Industry heads claim the attraction for producers to take trade lambs and turn them out as heavy lambs has increased over the last few years, driven by the increased demand from the US.
Supporting this is MLA's reported average carcase weight this season climbing to over 25 kilograms, again allegedly driven by the lure of the US market.
Recent data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed while industry has seen a decline in the price of chilled legs of lamb in the US, dropping 15pc on 2021 levels and 21pc on the record values seen earlier in the year, but chilled lamb racks were still priced close to record levels.
Analysts predicted the extreme prices might have had something to do with demand slowing down in terms of volume.
Nutrien Ag Solutions livestock development manager for Victoria's south east region Ron Rutledge said the strong export market will influence producers' buying decisions this spring season.
"I think this year people will be trying to buy the heavier end of the store type lambs to take forward," Mr Rutledge said.
"Last year we knew the price structure was exceptional, but I think the price structure this year will allow people to get back to what we would call a more reflective price to buy their store lambs at a price to sell.
"That augers pretty well that people will soon realise that there is good opportunity to be taken in a trade, and that will suffice in some of the store lamb purchases that will allow them to produce lambs into the winter with a good return."
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He said the fundamentals in Australia's meat trading business haven't changed, albeit faced with some logistical challenges.
There have been anecdotal reports of product backing up in coolstores, as it's difficult to ship.
"The containerised business of getting meat from Australia to overseas ports is still a considerable issue," Mr Rutledge said.
"Chiller space within the chilling fraternity in the bigger cities is at a premium.
"So for the processors to go the next step we just need a bit of light at the end of the tunnel with the middle part of the business of getting the product from A to B.
"The A bit is fine, the B bit is fine, it's just that in the middle bit, to get the product there, is probably where the bottleneck really starts and it comes down the line from there with their capacity to handle great numbers."
Thomas Elder Markets analyst Matt Dalgleish said current volumes of lamb are mirroring the flows set in July 2021 and are running nearly 23pc above the five-year average levels for July.
He said lamb export flows to China saw a 2pc dip from June to July with 4506 tonnes swt consigned.
"Compared to the 2021 season, July trade of lamb from Australia to China is nearly 30pc below the volumes seen at this time last year," Mr Dalgleish said.
"But the picture isn't as dire when compared to the five-year average for July, coming in at 11pc under the seasonal average trend."
He said Papua New Guinea (PNG) have moved into third top destination for Australian lamb exports in 2022 with July trade levels remaining strong, albeit exhibiting a sideways trend from June levels.
"Compared to July 2021, the current export levels to PNG are 51pc higher and the comparison to the five-year average for July is even more impressive, coming in nearly 90pc above the average pattern," Mr Dalgleish said.