THE geographic advantage of being able to viably sell cattle into either live export or traditional slaughter markets is being reflected in recent property value and demand trends seen across a large expanse of North Queensland cattle country.
While the dynamics of market competition between live export and processing ebbs and flows from year to year due to a range of factors - exchange rates, market demand and seasons to name a few - the accompanying map shows a representative 'premium' catchment area that can typically service both trades.
As a rough guide, the area comprises the country between the tick-line extending along the Flinders Highway to the North, and a parralel line about 300km south, extending east towards Charters Towers. Further east than that, processing starts to dominate trade again in a typical year, contributors to this report suggested.
The ticky country to the north and east of the shaded area is not included, on the basis of extra logistical and weight-loss challenges in dipping to clear, and the slower 'response time' should a market opportunity emerge in either direction.
The growth in demand for ever-increasing numbers of cattle from live export has driven the dual purpose trend over the past 10 years, sourcing increasing numbers from across the Queensland border out of Darwin.
Veteran Charters Towers property agent Lorin Bishop is one who is convinced that the attraction of flexibility in marketing options has played a big part in the recent resilience in land prices being seen across the northern live export/ processing catchment area.
"An argument can definitely be put that country inside that shaded boundary is being recognised pricewise for its ability to sell cattle west (live export), east (processing) and south (restocking/lotfeeding)," Mr Bishop said.
That trend had been emerging gradually for the past 19 years, and was in clear evidence during the 2008 year when property turnover in major cattle areas further south came to a solid halt, while places in the shaded region still continued to turn over strongly.
While the broader downturn caught up with the region a year later, which added attraction through marketing flexibility, protected the zone from the downturn for much longer than others, Mr Bishop suggested.
He said the advantage was being reflected in both price, and the 'saleability' of property within the zone.
"While turnover in property in the shaded zone has slowed in the past 18 months, coming into closer alignment with trends in other areas, those properties that have sold in 2009-10 are still holding their earlier values better than many other regions," he said.
"There's been a soft downturn in price, but not a huge slump, by any means."
Mr Bishop provided a series of examples, mostly Downs country blocks, many of which showed declines from recent highs of only 5-15 percent, suggesting there has been a 'cushioning' effect taking place.
At the peak of the market during 2008 some of the best of that country was making $140 to $150/ac ($345-$370/ha).
Since then, there had been about a dozen properties auctioned in 2009 and eight or ten in 2010.
Within that group those that had sold had still gone for 'fairly strong money', as the sample list below shows:
- Crewkerne near Muttaburra sold in 2008 for $132/ac bare ($326/ha) and again 2009 for $122/ac ($301ha)
- Cooinda, between Julia Creek and Winton sold for $121/ac ($299/ha) in 2008, and again in 2009 for $104 ($260/ha)
- This year, Canesby below Hughenden near the good Prairie country, sold for $125/ac ($308/ha)
- Luckholm near Corfield is believed to have sold for around $110/ac and
- Como, near Hughenden, sold after auction for around $120/ac.
Mr Bishop said it could be argued that the dual-market flexibility was perhaps not given the attention it deserved, in terms of a property's attributes.
But to a considerable extent properties within the prescribed zone tended to sell to local North Queensland cattlemen from nearby regions, to whom the strategic location value was 'self-evident.'
So what would happen if live export loading activity out of Townsville was to greatly expand, relative to trade out of Darwin, as some have predicted? Would that serve to expand and redefine the dual-market footprint?
Mr Bishop thinks not, primarily because those 'calf factory' properties in forest country to the north of the prescribed zone (around Chillagoe/Georgetown and the Peninsula, for example) tended to sell or transfer light, young cattle to other regions to be grown out.
Also, the live export price ex Townsville was lower than Darwin, due to additional shipping distance involved.
Nor would the footprint extend much further south, where producers tended to be well serviced by abattoirs at Mackay, Rockhampton and Biloela.
"Areas to the south tend to be pretty good fattening country, and the live export price ex Townsville would want to be pretty good to attract cattle out of Emerald, Nebo or Mackay, for example," Mr Bishop said.
Email a friend