Christmas meat prices: Supply shortage could see costs soar

Australians have been warned to brace for a meat supply shortage that could see popular items cost “an arm and a leg”. Here’s what’s likely to be affected.

Exclusive: Traditional Christmas roasts could be off the menu this year, as a meat shortage severely impacts supply.

Pub and restaurant goers — including many about to break from the shackles of lockdown — will also be caught in the cross hairs, with higher prices forecast for steaks.

Farmers and industry groups are blaming pandemic-imposed restrictions on abattoirs, a lack of staff in the food chain, including foreign workers, plus drought and bushfires for the situation.

Cattle farmers Bianca Tarrant and Dave McGiveron said ham and beef are already low in stock, but come Christmas would be hard to find and cost “an arm and a leg”.

“The price of meat is set to soar in the lead up to the holidays because farmers have been pummelled by drought, bushfires and the pandemic,” Ms Tarrant said.

“Beef production is down 18 per cent from last year; the lowest since 1972. Less stock means higher prices. And it’s not just beef — lamb and mutton flocks are also decimated.”

Industry body Meat and Livestock Australia warns as many as 250,000 spring lambs may not be processed this year if abattoir restrictions remain until November.

Metropolitan processors in Victoria are currently only allowed to run at 80 per cent capacity

and New South Wales cannot make up the shortfall.

“(There’s) no point having a large amount of supermarkets fully operational if there is a choke on supply of products for their shelves,” Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive officer Patrick Hutchinson said.

Compounding the problem is that much of the abattoir work is handled by foreign staff on 457 visas, which have largely disappeared with border closures.

Pictured is Craig Laundy (right) with his father Arthur Laundy at their pub, Marsden Brewhouse in Marsden Park. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Pub empire heir Craig Laundy, who runs more than two dozen NSW venues, said the next few months will be challenging for the industry.

“The decision we will probably make as a business in the short term is to absorb the price increases in meat and make less money,” Mr Laundy said.

“That’s the sad part having been shut for months but the last thing I want to do is have people coming back and noticing the prices have increased.

“Hopefully things get back to normal, but if not at some stage in the coming months we have to look at raising the cost.”

Leigh McDivitt, Head chef at Bistro Rex Sydney. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

Leigh McDivitt, Head chef at Bistro Rex Sydney. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

Bistro Rex in Sydney’s Potts Point placed orders with its meat suppliers months in advance and was yet to “see the full impact”.

“As with any added cost, we will recalculate the cost of our meat dishes and the price will have to be increased as a result,” head chef Leigh McDivitt said.

“After what’s happened to the restaurant industry over the last year, we can’t afford to absorb any additional costs unfortunately.”

Mr McDivitt added: “Interestingly, we've noticed that since the farmers are having better weather, some are opting to hold on to stock longer than before to fatten up the cattle, as they are sold by weight.

“This means farmers are now charging more for beef. To manage this, we use an online market comparison platform called FoodByUs.

“The platform allows us to manage purchasing with plenty of lead time so we are fully prepared months in advance for any price changes like this.”

Australia isn’t the only country with a looming festive food shortage. The UK is facing a dark winter with bare supermarket shelves, supply issues and a fuel crisis, brought on by Brexit and the pandemic.