Lean times prove good for lamb

The recession is causing consumers to change their eating habits - they’re going out less and buying fewer ready meals but cooking from scratch at home much more instead.

And that’s proved to be good news for lamb, according to the first results of an initiative involving the NFU, the Institute of Grocery Distribution and Kent Business School.

Results based on the shopping habits of 1.4m Tesco Clubcard customers show sales of fresh lamb have gone up 15% in volume during the last 12 months.

The study also had some key findings for livestock producers when it came to who was buying what type of meat and where they lived. For instance, it found that:

- Leg of lamb is the most popular cut but over the last 12 months sales of minced and diced lamb have grown by 30%

- The lamb market struggles to attract adults aged 20-39

- What cuts and type of lamb is bought varies regionally and between age groups. Minced and diced lamb and joints are most popular in London, but steaks go best in Lancashire, for example.

- One-in-five shoppers base their choice on welfare standards

- Half of shoppers want to buy more local produce