Thread: The price of meat these days is a joke.

Posted here as it's not funny enough for the jokes thread.

The price of meat these days is a joke.

The argument, that Britons (for example) pay $x.00/Kg in London, so why shouldn't we be charged, the same price here - fails as follows:

The price in London includes transporting the meat, 18,327 kilometres from Auckland (for example, could be Tauranga etc).

So if I am paying the same $x.00/Kg price as they do in London, then I want my meat, to be transported 9,163.5 Km and back again, before I buy it and I'd like to have proof that such has happened.

Logically the meat in NZ, should be London Price $x.00/Kg minus the cost of transporting meat 18,327 kilometres.
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And why can't I buy mutton? All the lamb legs in the supermarket are huge, I think they are Hogget labelled as Lamb, but where are the Mutton Packs?

Also the butchery process, now seems to include half a pelvis when you buy a lamb leg, or a pork leg roast.

Best to buy cancelled export orders, or shrink wrapped meat with export markings on it. They wouldn't try selling pelvis to the export market.

I'm serious about the pelvis, I boned out a large lamb leg I bought and cooked and compared it to skeleton illustration of a sheep. Clearly part of the pelvis was attached to the leg.

I emailed a marketing wallah at PaknSave, with photo and illustration and he wasn't having any of it. Nor could he answer the question of the missing mutton.
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Sea freight is cheap compared to road freight so the freight component is not that great on a per kilo basis.
Because of our very high supermarket margins (I would expect much higher than UK supermarkets that face more competition ) we pay a very high margin component in our purchase price, plus GST

Your post does highlight a great personal bugbear - meat left on the hill. If 20kg is left on the hill that is $300. Thats $100/hr for a second 3hr trip to get it, after tax ! who is earning that ??
If a hunter hasn't conditioned themselves to carry 40 - 50 kg (or more) loads at a time, make a second trip, the hourly rate is pretty good

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Sea freight is cheap compared to road freight so the freight component is not that great on a per kilo basis.
Because of our very high supermarket margins (I would expect much higher than UK supermarkets that face more competition ) we pay a very high margin component in our purchase price, plus GST

Your post does highlight a great personal bugbear - meat left on the hill. If 20kg is left on the hill that is $300. Thats $100/hr for a second 3hr trip to get it, after tax ! who is earning that ??
If a hunter hasn't conditioned themselves to carry 40 - 50 kg (or more) loads at a time, make a second trip, the hourly rate is pretty good

Yeah, producers get paid a pittance and consumers get fleeced.

this is why you support the local butcher...or better still find somewhere to run 2-3-5 sheep and knock one off every 6 months.
the pelvis thing......thats traditionally how a rear leg roast is cut up...you cut off hock and put in pelvis hole,for want of better name so it fits in meat dish... been cutting up muttons for 40 years and always get done this way..the leg thing is for export market I believe...or maybe to debone it for a "colonial goose"(bet not more than 1;50 members even know what that is) a few years back I went into butchers,saw the muttons hanging out back and promptly bought a rear leg roast WITH pelvis bit for $40 and was more than happy to pay it...feeds the whole family for main meal,sammies next day then shepherds pie following night...these days that roast gets cut into 3 bits for just the wife n I .
if cocky gets say $120 for sheep
freight to works say $10
killing charge of say $25
freight to butchers shop $ 10
butchers time to chop it up$ 25
your now up to $190..havent added in anything to run butchers shop or pay staff so lets add another $60 for nice rounded figures bringing us up to $250 now cut up that figure into all the cuts/chops/roasts and the price paid isnt too bad
but 100% agree its wrong that meat is cheaper in UK...butter is cheaper there and in OZ
we can buy ozzie UHT milk for same price and often times cheaper than local...supposedly fresh milk....I say supposedly as most everything other than blue top is reconstituted milk powder

Exactly the same story with milk. We pay the international price but of course there is no shipping here so the companies make that extra as a premium bonus.
Since losing my ram I have missed doing homekill and with the price of meat now gonna swap to Wiltshire's and get a ram

Originally Posted by rugerman

Exactly the same story with milk. We pay the international price but of course there is no shipping here so the companies make that extra as a premium bonus.
Since losing my ram I have missed doing homekill and with the price of meat now gonna swap to Wiltshire's and get a ram

Bugger if you were down south island I could've helped ya out, we have a wiltshire ram that needs to move on

Originally Posted by dannyb

Bugger if you were down south island I could've helped ya out, we have a wiltshire ram that needs to move on

you looking to change him out for another wilty???? if so,man do I have a deal for you.....

Originally Posted by rugerman

Exactly the same story with milk. We pay the international price but of course there is no shipping here so the companies make that extra as a premium bonus.
Since losing my ram I have missed doing homekill and with the price of meat now gonna swap to Wiltshire's and get a ram

Wiltshires are the way to go, far less work and they taste better too. I was going to put these rams on trademe but never got around to it. Never been shorn, never been drenched, organic certified.

Originally Posted by Ben Waimata

Wiltshires are the way to go, far less work and they taste better too. I was going to put these rams on trademe but never got around to it. Never been shorn, never been drenched, organic certified.

No No all sheep pale compared to Pitt Island on the plate.

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

No No all sheep pale compared to Pitt Island on the plate.

Damn right @Moa Hunter, while my Wiltshires are tidy, Pitt Is Merino would have to be the best muff to go down my neck.Next level.And the Chatham Wekas cooked by the locals probably a close second

Originally Posted by bluebaiter222

Damn right @Moa Hunter, while my Wiltshires are tidy, Pitt Is Merino would have to be the best muff to go down my neck.Next level.And the Chatham Wekas cooked by the locals probably a close second

I have sampled some very good meat over the years, yearling Elk, Bison heifer, Moose, all renowned as top shelf (they are) and Pitt Island lamb would beat them all. It has only a small amount of fat, but that fat is intramuscular and melts and traps the water contained in the muscle during cooking. Even cold the next day a Pitt roast isn't fatty in the mouth, not like horrible Romney as an example. The flavour of the Pitts is wonderful too. They are small easy to handle ( not like Cheviots or Peri's ) and easy care, shed their fleece

Yeah I am so sick of having to dag and shear. Oh I didn't know they were good eaters but that's a bonus I think I will rehome most of my current ones as I can't wait till they die of old age, and I like being understocked so I don't need to buy in supplements in Winter. Temped to make a road trip for one of your rams

Originally Posted by Ben Waimata

Wiltshires are the way to go, far less work and they taste better too. I was going to put these rams on trademe but never got around to it. Never been shorn, never been drenched, organic certified.

If my memory serves me right you have to be responsible for the day to day care of an animal for 30 days before you are allowed to do it for homekill. So I wonder if there would be a market for a farmer to sell an animal to someone who then comes around to do regular health/feed/water checks on the animal still in one of the farmers' paddocks.

Originally Posted by rugerman

If my memory serves me right you have to be responsible for the day to day care of an animal for 30 days before you are allowed to do it for homekill. So I wonder if there would be a market for a farmer to sell an animal to someone who then comes around to do regular health/feed/water checks on the animal still in one of the farmers' paddocks.

I seriously considered doing that, mostly with Samoan contacts as those guys are always honest, thankful for the opportunity and love meat. In the end it just seemed too much hassle dealing with the public and the regulations, needing people come look after the animals, then sorting out killing space and removal of waste. Selling animals to my mate down the road is far less hassle.

Originally Posted by Ben Waimata

I seriously considered doing that, mostly with Samoan contacts as those guys are always honest, thankful for the opportunity and love meat. In the end it just seemed too much hassle dealing with the public and the regulations, needing people come look after the animals, then sorting out killing space and removal of waste. Selling animals to my mate down the road is far less hassle.

and this is why I believe you could sell them the oppertunity to shoot an animal..and allow them to take it home afterwards.....

Agree with the posts above, but there's a lot of free and relatively easy to obtain meat running around in the hills. Don't waste it, adjust your cooking style. Bumblefoot has some excellent recipes on his lifestyle thread. I got some at the beginning of this week.