* Reporter: Damien Hansen
* Broadcast Date: March 03, 2010

The great Aussie barbecue is under threat from meat prices that are
set to hit record highs.

Wholesale butcher Kevin Masterton says the days of expensive cuts at
cheap prices are over for Australian meat lovers. He's predicted
Australian meat prices will never be the same again.

"Everyone is predicting Lamb will be the first Australian meat that is
unaffordable. Some of the predictions I've seen is that lamb racks and
cutlets will be one hundred dollars a kilo by the middle of this
decade," Kevin said.

"It's in what we primarily call the sweet cuts, the rum, the eye
fillet, the t-bone and porter house and rib fillet - they're the ones
going up the most."

And it's all because we've been spoiled for choice. The drought has
forced farmers' hands - they've had to off-load cattle to stay afloat.

But thanks to mother nature, prices are on the way back up.

"There was a massive drop in prices last Christmas and that was mainly
related to a drought situation, but it's opposite of the problem we've
got now, farmers had to get rid of cattle so prices dropped
substantially," Kevin said.

Rain along the eastern states in recent months is driving meat prices
up. The grass is growing and farmers are holding onto their cattle
because they want them to eat it. It's a simple case of less supply
and more demand.

"They see that they are going to make more money on the cattle so they
hold onto them for longer. There is also quite a bit of export, the
economy has started to turn so there is less cattle in the market,"
Kevin said.

And it's a similar story when it comes to lamb.

There's been a nine per cent jump in retail sales and a 10 per cent
rise in national expenditure on the meat.

And this year the nation's sheep flock is forecast to hit its lowest
point since 1905.

"And we have got massive exports to the middle east, so if you take
those factors into account they've had a pretty detrimental impact on
the stock," Kevin said.

"Lamb has probably had the most spectacular increase - we are probably
talking four to five dollars a kilo for the lamb cuts."

So how do you get the best value for your money?

"The best value for money is really the secondary cuts - it's the
things our mother and grandmothers used to buy, so things like blade
and knuckle, top sidechuck tenders and things like those," Kevin said.

In 2007 Today Tonight proved just how cheap it can be when meat is
purchased direct from the sale yard. Back then, just over 13 kilos of
beef was purchased at $5.82 a kilo. Today that same amount could be
purchased for a little more than $6.50 a kilo.

"Our beef is still relatively cheap compared to other countries but I
don't think it's ever going to go back to what it was, unfortunately,"
Kevin said.

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia
http://tinyurl.com/rainbowpryde

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