The centre turned over just shy of 1.7 million sheep and lambs and when cattle were added into the mix the overall  figure comes in at more than $428 million. 

Wagga Livestock Marketing Centre manager Paul Martin said overall prices were higher for sheep and lambs and this helped to boost the results. 

In fact, average across the board for all lines was $130. And the sheep and lamb market on its own was worth $219 million. 

The big numbers of sheep and lambs allow Wagga to hold the top selling spot in Australia and the world. 

And with the national flock experiencing a rebuilding phase Wagga throughput is often up around 1.9 million. 

“We were in fact down a couple of hundred thousand this (financial) year but having said that we experienced good prices,” Mr Martin said. 

“We have seen some really good returns throughout the year and that has helped with the averages,” Mr Martin said. 

Each week the centre hosts eight agency companies and is renowned for drawing the major buyers in.

“We get a lot of buyers here and that is key to the success and the overall competition in the market,” he said. 

Within industry circles it is well known that Wagga holds pride of place as the largest sheep and lamb selling centre in the world. And this has become a draw card for local and international visitors.

Aside from injecting funds into the local economy and providing a selling platform Mr Martin said the interest in the centre grew each year. 

“We regularly host international guests from all levels of industry and we have government officials through to tourists,” he said. 

And the centre is also active in encouraging education programs and fostering young auctioneer development.