In the 12 weeks to 13 June, UK shoppers spent 6.1% more buying beef year on year, but this bought 3.2% less product, according to Worldpanel by Numerator UK data, published by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
This is explained by the rising retail price of beef, which was 9.7% higher during this period than it was a year earlier.
While the recent trend of spending more but getting less continues, the AHDB noted that “the rate of decline has softened compared to previous periods”.
Sheepmeat
It is a similar trend with lamb purchases, with the spend increasing by 5.1% year on year, but the volumes purchased falling by 1.1%.
Within the category, there was varied performance, with primary lamb volumes down by 3.2%, but within that, lamb steaks performed well, with the amount sold increasing by 9.2%, while sales of lamb roasting joints fell by 9.2%.
The AHDB observed that “while lamb remains a key seasonal choice, price pressures are limiting purchases of higher cost cuts outside key occasions”.
Pigmeat
Unlike beef and lamb, pigmeat retail sales fell by volume and value in the 12 weeks to 13 June.
Overall volumes were down 3.4% or 32,169 tonnes, while the spend fell by 2.7%. The AHDB said that this “reflects relatively stable pricing with average prices increasing only modestly,” at less than 1%.
Again within the category there was variation in performance. Primary pork products, which include mince and roasting joints, recorded an increase in volume sales of 25.6% and 12.6% respectively.
However, processed pigmeat, which includes sausages and bacon rashers, recorded a decline in volume sales of 5.8%.
In the early part of last year when cattle prices surged, UK retail prices only increased at a moderate rate.
However, when cattle prices turned downwards from April 2025 on, retail prices kept rising.
This was logical, as there is a time lag of several weeks, extending to months in some cases, in higher prices being passed along the supply chain.
As we moved into this year, cattle prices in Ireland had fallen significantly and while the fall was less in the UK, the trend was the same.
With retail prices continuing to increase, it is now clear that the major UK supermarkets are focused on protecting their margin on beef and lamb sales, even if this comes at the cost of their shoppers buying less of the product.
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