Retail Meat NZ’s online survey indicates lamb is dominating Christmas tables across New Zealand this year. However, it comes at a significant cost.
The average retail price for roasting lamb and hogget soared to a record $23.79 per kilogram in October 2025, according to Stats NZ’s latest figures.
Kit Arkwright, chief executive of Beef & Lamb NZ Ltd, acknowledged that the rising prices are placing pressure on many families.
“The message to consumers is shop around,” Arkwright said.
“There are some really great deals out there. There’s obviously the supermarkets, there’s lots of local independent butchers and there’s increasingly more and more online options. And they’re all playing different pricing regimes and are offering different prices. So the biggest message is shop around.”
A survey of supermarket prices nationwide shows legs of lamb generally exceeding $25 per kilogram.
A whole lamb leg, typically around 3 kg, could cost at least $75.
General inflation, along with supply and demand dynamics, is driving the price increases.
The chairperson of Beef and Lamb New Zealand, Kate Acland, said there are fewer sheep available.
“Globally there is a shortage of sheep meat, so I think it’s around 5.8% down globally.
“Some good news out of New Zealand, we’ve seen even though sheep numbers have dropped off, lamb numbers are actually up on last year.
“From a consumer point of view, hopefully we won’t see too much more upward pressure on prices.”
Acland also urged shoppers to watch for pre-Christmas specials.