Interesting question, isn’t it?
New Zealand withdrew their farming subsidies many years ago but we continue to subsidise our farmers.
New Zealand lamb is shipped half way across the world and creates a massive carbon footprint. That is a lot of money in shipping costs.
So far, New Zealand lamb should be more expensive.
The only thing that I can think of is economies of scale. Maybe the herds of sheep are much bigger and are therefore cheaper to manage.
Or is it just that our sheep farmers are less efficient than the Kiwis, using old fashioned farming methods?
For the life of me, I cannot work out as to why British lamb is more expensive than New Zealand lamb. I have eaten both British and New Zealand lamb and, in my opinion, the quality is comparable.
And why is lamb the most expensive meat? Using my supermarket as a source, a leg of lamb is £11 per KG. A joint of top side or top rump beef is £7.50 per KG. Okay, in terms of a fillet, the closest that I can get to is a fillet steak that costs £29 per KG but that is not really comparable.
When I used to have parties and make Beef Wellington, I would always go for a joint of fillet.
So, ignoring the fillet anomaly, why is lamb more expensive than beef?
Quite frankly, given that lamb is subsidised and is “on our doorstep”, I do not understand as to why British lamb is more expensive that New Zealand lamb; to me, it should be the other way around, surely?
David's Diatribe 