Downward cattle prices to linger

Severe restrictions on shipping containers for export meat and a disappearing Chinese and American market means there is a lot of meat stored at Australian ports, according to Elders Strathalbyn agent Danny Reynolds.

"Producers are battling to get their product into those markets," he said.

"It is anyone's guess at how long it will take but the large backlog of meat means until it budges, nothing else will - including prices."

Local butchers are still buying at a domestic level and some product is being sold overseas at reduced levels but Mr Reynolds believed restockers were a key player to help give domestic prices a boost.

"It is the wrong time for restockers to operate and the feed is also water logged," he said.

"So, many are sitting on their haunches waiting for feed and warmer weather."

But sellers would have to wait until late August and September until restockers made their presence felt on the market, which according to Mr Reynolds, was a long wait.

He also anticipated the market would bottom-out about a month ago but was happy to be proved wrong.

"I was surprised but it will be a rocky six to eight weeks ahead," he said.

Producer Leigh Baker was on the hunt for store cattle this week, to background at his Wild Horse Plains property before heading into a feedlot next year.

But he had pulled back on numbers in recent months as concern about falling returns prompted caution.

"I am buying in less cattle because saleyard numbers have dwindled but it is also the depressed market," he said.

"I probably will not increase buying until the amount of meat stockpiled has been cleared."

Mr Baker believed it was an expensive stockpile which needed to be moved on with realistic prices.

"People cannot afford to buy it, which is not helping prices," he said.

But Nutrien Ag Solutions Balaklava agent Kelly Evans believed a lack of northern cattle hitting SA's market had also contributed to dwindling saleyard numbers and could potentially improve returns down the track.

"It has been a good season up there and less cattle have been sent down," he said.

"If it is dry, more weaners and lighter cattle come down which are good for backgrounders, so yardings have been smaller without their influence."

Plus, Mr Evans believed if rain kept arriving, the local store market could strengthen.

Pastoralists near Port Augusta had also received a dumping of rain in the past month, according to Elders Port Augusta agent Jack Coleman.

"It is probably the best condition the northwest has been in for four years running," he said.

But many pastoralists had seen a dramatic drop returns and had since held onto cattle tightly.

"Even though the value of the stock may have dropped, it is as good as stock as we would ever sell out of this district," Mr Coleman said.

"Prices across all weight ranges had been similar in cents a kilogram but lighter cattle have jumped up slightly."

Mr Coleman said producers were getting back to better stocking rates but up until about a month ago, some were "jumpy" and looked at agistment to value-add with the downturn in returns.

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