Cost of living pain as meat prices soar and dairy products tipped to rise next

Lamb prices are “phenomenal” and dairy essentials like butter and cheese could be the next to rise. But there could be some good news on the horizon.

Supermarket prices will continue to put pressure on household budgets, with even the cost of the winter family favourite – the lamb roast – expected to remain high.

A “perfect storm” of problems was expected to keep the price of many grocery items high and many products in short supply over the coming months.

The issues affecting the market include expensive fuel and fertiliser, worker shortages, the war in Ukraine, pandemic recovery and floods in food-growing areas.

Everyday vegetables such as lettuce, green beans, zucchini and some types of tomatoes were still expensive and also hard to get in some stores.

The price of lamb is expected to remain high. Picture: Brendan Radke

One Queensland supermarket was even briefly selling a single iceberg lettuce for $12 this week.

Meat prices were also still high compared to historical levels.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said that red meat was “eye-wateringly expensive” compared to what we were paying more than five years ago.

Ms Germano said it was important to shop around for the best buy. Coles on Friday was advertising its lamb rack roast for $35 a kilogram, but prices varied according to cut and location.

Buying red meat in Australia is ‘eye-wateringly expensive’ compared to five years ago.

The federal government’s decision to ban live animal exports would be a “disaster for agriculture”, Ms Germano said, but it could prove to be a silver lining for domestic consumers.

“Lamb prices are quite phenomenal at the moment. But potentially shutting down our live exports could push prices down because of extra supply,” Ms Germano said.

Butter and cheese was also likely to go up in price, she said.

Meat & Livestock Australia said beef prices were up 10 per cent and lamb up 5 per cent compared to 12 months ago.

“Consumer demand is still reasonably strong despite price increases (with consumer spend up about 1.5 per cent versus last year), so again trends over the short term are likely to be stable,’’ a spokeswoman said.

The usual winter lull of lamb was unlikely because of a strong supply coming on to the market.

Fruit and vegetable growers in northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland, especially the Lockyer Valley, were still recovering from heavy rain in recent months.

AusVeg predicted that it would take many months to plant and harvest growers’ next crops and replenish grocery store shelves.