Lamb for the chop on summer barbecues?
Kiwis are paying record prices for lamb chops as the barbecue season gets underway, but salad veges are on the way down.
Booming export prices for lamb and a lower New Zealand dollar have led to the price hikes, consumer prices manager for Statistics NZ, Geraldine Duoba, said.
Last month lamb chops cost 7.7 per cent more than in September, reaching $17.12 a kilogram. The cost of sausages was also up, by 4.9 per cent to $10.30/kg.
October saw the biggest monthly increases of 2.5 per cent in the price of meat and poultry since January 2016. However, tomatoes, lettuces and courgettes are all headed down in price as the warmer weather arrives. Vegetable prices fell 8.7 per cent last month, following an 8.7 per cent drop in September.
But what is painful for Kiwi consumers has a positive side for farmers. ASB analyst Nathan Penny said although lamb prices had ‘‘moved from a boil to a simmer’’ last month, they remained extremely high. ‘‘October prices averaged 11 per cent above October 2017. Moreover, October prices were 29 per cent higher than the average over the previous five October months.’’
Penny forecasts prices to remain buoyant over the rest of the season, partly because lamb supply is constrained in Australia and locally. Beef+Lamb NZ has estimated this season’s lamb crop will be nearly one million smaller than last season’s.
Chinese and American consumers can’t get enough of the premium meat, with prices for the 2017-18 export season, finishing 18 per cent and 21 per cent up on the year before, respectively.
‘‘Although we expect prices to moderate in line with the usual seasonal pattern, the 2018-19 season is shaping up as a healthy one for farmers,’’ Penny said.
If lamb chops cost too much, meat lovers might try sirloin and porterhouse steak, which are down slightly from September highs.
Last month tomato prices fell
22 per cent to $6.90 a kg, while lettuce dropped 30 per cent to $1.28 per 500g head.
The fall in courgette prices followed limited supplies in September when imports were temporarily suspended for biosecurity reasons.
Overall, food prices fell 0.6 per cent in October, but rose 0.3 per cent after seasonal adjustments. Annually, food prices increased
0.6 per cent.