The public's appetite for lamb increased during the festive season as figures show retail sales of £68 million in the 4-week period to 27 December 2020.
The latest figures show sales up 14% on both 2018 and 2019, with an increase of 14.6% in the number of people buying lamb.
Sales of smaller cuts, ideal for meals for smaller gatherings in lockdown, led the surge in demand, according to Kantar.
Spending on lamb chops in December was up over 37% on 2019, with good demand for steaks as well as leg roasting joints.
Promoting recipes for family meals was a key theme in autumn and winter marketing for Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), including campaigns around ‘Love Lamb Week’ in September and in the run-up to Christmas.
Overall, 2020 was a record year with consumers spending £652 million on lamb – up 10.8 percent on the previous year, figures show.
This is despite a poor Easter, as fewer gatherings were possible during the first lockdown, and therefore reflects bumper retail demand in summer and autumn as well as the final part of the year.
The growth of lamb sales was particularly strong at high street butchers. Independent retailers accounted for 12.1% of total lamb purchases in 2020, as opposed to 9.9% in 2019, with spending up 35.3% on the year to £79m.
Kantar data also reveals that groups of people who weren’t previously in the habit of eating lamb were discovering the meat for the first time.
Younger shoppers, families with children and larger households all accounted for a higher proportion of lamb purchases than in previous years.
HCC data analyst Glesni Phillips said: “It’s encouraging to see new groups of consumers responding to campaigns to inspire them to try new family recipes at home.
“Of course, sales of lamb in restaurants and hotels have been much lower, but demand from the retail sector has been strong.
“We’ve seen growing sales across all types of British retailers, but especially in independent butchers, which is a very interesting trend.”
Market prices for sheep farmers were strong throughout the second half of 2020, reflecting the strong retail demand and also reduced imports.
Latest figures from Beef and Lamb New Zealand show a further fall in exports to Britain and Europe as the southern hemisphere lamb producer focused more on Asian markets during the Covid-affected year.
Whereas New Zealand Lamb exports to China and other parts of North Asia were similar in 2020 and 2019, exports to Europe fell by 6 percent.
