Sticky beef: why Australia’s supermarket meat prices remain high despite falling livestock markets

‘Cattle and lamb prices at saleyards have now regressed back to their 2018 levels. Does this suggest a potential reduction in red meat prices at the supermarket nearing their 2018 levels?’ asks Matt Dalgleish. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

There has been quite a bit of consternation from Australian farmers this year that the price of sheep and cattle have been falling at the saleyard, but at the retail level red meat pricing has remained stuck in an inflationary spiral.

In the world of economics there is a concept known as “sticky prices”, which helps to explain why retail prices sometimes take time to adjust to price changes at earlier stages of the supply chain, such as the prices being paid to the farmer.