The great red meat rip-off! Butchers warn the price of beef and lamb is set to rise by more than 40%
- Butchers warn that prices of lamb and beef have risen by 40 per cent in months
- A 2.5kg leg of lamb can cost up to $50 at some outlets and will continue to rise
- Farmers kill herds prematurely in the drought so there is a rise in low-grade meat
Butchers have warned that meat prices are skyrocketing and will continue to do so because of the drought.
Beef and lamb prices are rising as the market is flooded with low-quality stock from desperate Australian farmers.
Farmers are killing their cattle prematurely to avoid the cost of feeding them, resulting in a huge demand for mature stock.
Premium beef and lamb prices are continuing to rise as the market is flooded with low-quality stock from desperate Australian farmers (stock image)
Sydney butcher Nathan Iowa told Daily Mail Australia there has been a 40 per cent price increase in red meat and customers are the first to notice.
'What was $50 a few months ago is now $70 for premium cuts and cheaper cuts used to be $30 but is coming up to $50,' he said.
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'The good stuff is going to keep on going up.'
A 2kg beef roast sells for $52 at Coles, $56 at Woolworths and up to $70 at butchers.
A 2.5kg lamb leg roast sells for $34 at Coles and Woolworths and fetches up to $50 at some butchers.
Mr Iowa also said the price of chicken has gone up by 10 per cent.
It is cheaper for farmers to kill cattle before they are ready to eat because of the cost of feeding them during the drought (pictured is a drought-affected farm in New South Wales)
Mr Iowa said: 'The farmers are absolutely screaming.'
'It's cheaper for them to kill the animal before they're ready to eat.'
Earlier this month, a NSW farmer sold 10 cows in poor condition for $97.42 each
Mr Iowa said these cattle are not usually sold for eating and that his butcher Craig Cook does not sell low-quality meat.
'It's constant, the prices are always going up,' he said.
A 2.5kg lamb roast sells for $34 at supermarkets and fetches up to $50 at some butchers (pictured is a drought-affected farm in New South Wales)
