Beef and lamb prices increase at Coles and Woolworths

Here’s how much you need to pay for popular cuts of meat at your supermarket.

Australia’s famed beef and lamb is up to 4.5 times more expensive than chicken at the supermarket.

And as saleyard prices for cattle and sheep continue at record levels and global demand stays strong, retail prices for red meat are getting dearer.

Beef prices at the retail level are up more than 4 per cent on last year, with Australian Bureau of Statistics data compiled by Thomas Elder Markets showing the indicative retail beef price is at $24.87/kg for the last quarter of 2021.

This is up $1/kg on the first quarter of last year.

The retail price for lamb has risen only slightly in the same time period, from $18.49/kg to $18.53/kg.

Since 2000 average retail beef prices have risen 134 per cent, or from $10.59/kg in 2000 to $24.87/kg currently, and lamb prices have risen 176 per cent, from $6.70/kg to $18.53/kg.

Thomas Elder Markets analyst Matt Dalgleish said beef versus lamb had been relatively static over the past two decades, with beef averaging about 1.3-times the price of lamb, but chicken had become more and more price competitive, with its indicative retail price at $5.59/kg last quarter.

“Currently lamb is 3.3 times the price of chicken and beef is nearly 4.5 times the price of chicken,” he said.

The major supermarkets have again passed on the price rise to meet the tighter margins, after increasing prices last year.

Prices for meat on supermarket shelves has risen.

Woolworths’ porterhouse steak has risen $4/kg in the past six months from $37/kg to $41/kg — this is $9/kg up on the price for the same cut of meat in March last year — and beef mince has risen from $15/kg to $16/kg — up $4 from March last year.

Coles’ porterhouse steak is up just 50 cents from six months ago and is now $37.50/kg — which is an increase from $32/kg in March last year, while regular beef mince is $13/kg, up from $12/kg in July last year.

A Woolworths’ spokesman said “we’re working closely with our supply partners to manage the whole-of-market price pressure on red meat”.

“We regularly review our pricing and promotional plans and always strive to ensure we’re competitive in the market.”

Meat supplies in supermarkets have been affected recently by Covid-19. Picture: Tony Gough

Meanwhile, in August last year, Aldi announced it was cutting the price of some of its core grocery items. Aldi’s three-star beef mince was cut by $1/kg to $9.99/kg, while the Jindurra Station beef porterhouse was cut to $19.99/kg, down from $22.99/kg.

The supermarket has since increased those prices again, with the beef mince now retailing for $10.99/kg and the porterhouse beef now at $21.99/kg.

An Aldi spokeswoman said Covid-19 has posed challenges, including worker shortages.

“Even when prices must increase to account for pressures and increased costs in our supply chain we are committed to offering the lowest possible prices in the market,” she said.