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The largest sheep sale in the world takes place every Thursday (save for holidays) at the Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre in southern New South Wales, where nearly two million sheep are bought and sold each year. Trucks drop off sheep on the outside of the facility, and buyers inspect them in the middle. On this day some 57,000 animals changed hands, with 80 percent being primarily eleven-month-old lambs that will head to the slaughterhouse, and the rest are mostly younger animals that will be sent to feedlots in the region. The sellers average around 200 Australian dollars for each 62-pound lamb. Australia’s lamb exports have surged as demand for all meats continues to increase in many parts of the world, particularly China, which is Australia’s major market for sheep meat. The country was expected to export nearly a half million tons in 2023.

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The largest sheep sale in the world takes place every Thursday (save for holidays) at the Wagga Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre in southern New South Wales, where nearly two million sheep are bought and sold each year. Trucks drop off sheep on the outside of the facility, and buyers inspect them in the middle. On this day some 57,000 animals changed hands, with 80 percent being primarily eleven-month-old lambs that will head to the slaughterhouse, and the rest are mostly younger animals that will be sent to feedlots in the region. The sellers average around 200 Australian dollars for each 62-pound lamb. Australia’s lamb exports have surged as demand for all meats continues to increase in many parts of the world, particularly China, which is Australia’s major market for sheep meat. The country was expected to export nearly a half million tons in 2023.

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