Easter lamb still a good choice

Meat & Livestock Australia domestic marketing manager Graeme Yardy said while people do cut costs on their grocery bill, they also look to treat themselves for occasions like Easter.

"With lamb specifically we're just coming off two really strong quarters of lamb sales, we had the Summer lamb campaign which was a big contributor of that and there's a bit more supply around, which is great," he said.

"We're seeing lamb hold up really quite strongly considering the economics that are on right now."

Mr Yardy said staples like lamb roast were popular for entertaining, but slow cook cuts were also being used more and more to create dishes such as curries.

"I think people are getting a bit more of a taste for some of the lesser known cuts that actually deliver really well but can be a bit more affordable as well," he said.

"The butchers are the masters of selling a range of cuts...we are always keen to help them, they are doing a great job as it is, but providing inspiration around recipes we use and the cuts we feature."

Robert Constable is the Australian Meat Industry Council's National Retail Council chair and said his butchery, located in Singleton, NSW, has seen strong demand for lamb this week.

"We got our lambs in [on Tuesday] and got extra and already legs are very popular," he said.

"The traditional roast lamb is certainly a thing for Easter Sunday.

"We're coming into a better time of year for lamb now, we've just come through a period with a lot of older lambs, last season's late finishing lambs... the lambs we got this week are exceptional and back up to that top quality."

Mr Constable said pre-Easter lamb sales are largely driven by what the supermarkets do, with major retailers putting on their own specials.

"If we're using grade one lambs, they might be using something four or five down the chain by the looks of the product," he said.

"Obviously there's a market for everyone... consumers that want to pay $20/kg for lamb loin chops that are worth $20, that's what they will do and consumers that want to pay $30/kg for lamb loin chops that are worth that much will do that.

"Regardless of whether you've got the best lambs or the most average lambs in the market, the cocky's got to find a home for them somehow."

In Queensland, Toowoomba's The Padddock Butchery has found a way to fight back against lower lamb sales, recently launching a dry-aged wether product.

The retailer is marketing wether legs at $17-18/kg.

The Paddock Butchery group general manager Ryan McBurney said since launching the product only weeks ago, they'd seen an uptick in demand.

"I'm not really sure which way it will swing this Easter... if I'm being completely honest after that genius marketing strategy with Sam Kekovich back in the day, I would say the last couple of Easters haven't been as big of lamb years as we had seen historically," he said.

"With the wether forequarter chops through our shop at the moment, they're walking out the door.

"We basically pass on the savings for the customer... we're feeling that's meeting the needs of customers at the moment with their financial position and it's also a really high quality product."