Fed: Sheep flock to fall below 100 million mark: ABARE
CANBERRA, Dec 16 AAP - The Australian sheep flock would fall below the 100 millionmark, the national forecaster said today.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) said sheep numberswould fall 10 per cent to 91 million.
Driven by the drought, many sheep farmers have been forced to cull stock, while thedry conditions have also affected lambing rates.
The 91 million would be the smallest flock since the 1920s.
The small flock is expected to underpin wool prices, with the Australian eastern marketindicator tipped to average 1005 cents a kilogram this financial year, up nearly 20 percent on last season.
Prices have averaged above the 1100 cents a kilogram mark since October.
"The onset of severe drought conditions across much of Australia means that sheep numberswill fall significantly again this financial year," ABARE said.
"While high wool prices would normally be expected to encourage an increase in woolproduction, reduced joinings in the short term because of drought are likely to impedegrowth in the flock once the drought breaks."
AAP sw/mg
KEYWORD: ABARE WOOL
No comments:
Post a Comment