Expenditure on lamb in the UK during the 52-week period ending June 22, 2014 totalled £640 million, down 2% from year earlier levels according to Kantar.
The results, which are detailed by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) showed that there was a decline in the volumes sold but an increase in the average retail price year on year.
In the 52 weeks ending June 22, 2014, volume sales of lamb in the UK were 6% lower than year earlier levels at 77,872 tonnes while the average retail price increased by 5% to £8.22/kg during the same period.
The increase in the average retail price is likely to be a key driver behind the 4% reduction in household penetration (to 57.5%) and the 4% decline in average weight purchased per household (to 5.1kg) during the 52-week period ending June 22, 2014. The majority of major lamb cuts recorded notable declines in volume sales between the two periods.
However, there has been an improvement in the performance of lamb in the 12-week period ending June 22, 2014, with expenditure up 6% on year earlier levels to £157 million. With the average retail price per kg back 2% to £7.66 year on year the increase in expenditure has been driven by an 8% increase in volume sales.
