Item Aussie shoppers are avoiding due to cost of living pressures

As Aussie shoppers struggle with the cost of living, there is one iconic item they are now avoiding to save money.

Australians are cutting down on eating meat to save any dollar they can during the country’s cost of living crisis.

Nationwide inflation, due to the war in Ukraine and floods on the east coast, means consumers are making more considered purchases and changing their shopping habits across the board.

Australians are buying less meat as a result, with Ritchies chief executive Fred Harrison saying they are noticing “changes in the customer’s basket”.

“We are seeing people save on meat,” he told the Today show on Friday.

Australians have given steak the flick because it is too expensive. Pictures: Jack Tran

“We’re seeing people perhaps not buy as much as scotch fillet, porterhouse and heading towards mince meat and stewing cuts often used for slow cooking this time of year.”

It mirrored what Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said on Thursday when the supermarket giant announced its bumper $1.5bn annual profit.

He said their customers might need to make different shopping choices to avoid the cost of living crunch.

“It may mean in some cases making trade offs in terms of choosing a different form of protein, a more affordable form of protein,” Mr Banducci said.

“So you might go from beef to chicken mince or pork mince or you might have a scenario where someone goes from a fresh vegetable to a frozen solution.”

Inflation has caused shoppers to more considered purchases. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

But the good news for consumers is the price of fresh produce has gone down after it reached dizzying heights due to inflation and the floods in NSW and Queensland.

Mr Harrison said it would be welcome news to those tired off subbing in cabbage for iceberg lettuce.

“The infamous iceberg lettuce, we spoke about it being $12, $13 six weeks ago,” he said.

“Today, we’re going to be selling it as cheap as $2.49, so that’s amazing when you look from $12 to $2.49, a very significant price drop and it’s good quality too.”

Ritchies chief executive Fred Harrison said the cost of fresh produce had rapidly dropped. Picture: Aaron Francis / The Australian

Other fresh produce that have experienced price drops include tomatoes, beans, broccoli and spring onions.

Mr Harrison indicated he was confident that prices would not rapidly rise again unless there was another severe weather event.

“We are getting the growth and better weather and allowing people now to buy and start to feel comfortable that prices are starting to come down,” he said.

“Obviously, if we get another real bad bought of weather across the east coast of Australia that will change.”