Lamb Prices Hit Record High as Easter and Eid Collide

Supermarket shoppers are facing paying more than £16 per kilo for a leg as festive holidays, shrinking flocks and strong export demand weigh on the UK sheep sector.

British families sitting down to Easter lunch this weekend are facing the highest lamb prices on record, as a rare calendar clash with the end of Ramadan clashes with the country’s shrinking flock and strong demand for Continental exports.

Figures compiled by retail analysts Assosia show the average price of a leg of lamb at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury’s rose to £16.23 a kilo, up 12.5 per cent on last year, when shoppers were paying £14.43. The sharpest supermarket jump was at Sainsbury’s, where a British butterfly leg jumped by a third to £20, while a Taste the Difference Welsh Hill leg was up 22.4 per cent at £17.75. Tesco’s Finest lamb shoulder, meanwhile, rose 16.4 per cent to the same mark of £17.75.

The increase in the price of pallets indicates a strong movement in the wholesale markets. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) reports that lamb sales have risen from around £7.20 a kilo at Easter last year to around £8.40 today.

Independent butchers are also feeling the pinch. Sam Bagge, manager of the award-winning Walsingham Farm Shop in Norfolk, said a 2.5kg leg of local, healthy lamb now sells for £75, up from £65 last year. “It’s as expensive as I’ve ever seen it,” he said, adding that budget-conscious customers were increasingly trading up to pork shoulder, which saw a 30 per cent rise in demand at £27 a joint.

Livestock trader James Little described the conditions as a “perfect storm”. He said that Eid traditionally increases the demand for lambs, and since Easter starts early this year, the two holiday peaks have coincided. “There was a big demand at the end of Ramadan and then we met the demand for Easter,” he said.

Mr Little added that Britain’s Muslim population is fueling strong year-round demand: AHDB survey data shows that 80 per cent of halal consumers in the UK eat lamb at least once a week, compared to around 6 per cent of the general population. In addition, he pointed out “the great demand for British lamb in France, Belgium, Holland and Portugal”.

Dave Barton, chairman of the livestock board at the National Farmers’ Union, said prices were “mainly driven by strong demand from the public, both here in the UK and around the world”. The squeeze, he warned, is compounded by ongoing contractions in the breeding herd. The National Sheep Association puts the number of UK breeding ewes at 14.7 million, the lowest number in living memory.

Mr Barton blamed a drop in farmer confidence, citing “the end of direct government subsidy payments, coupled with higher operating costs and market volatility”. He called on ministers to support investment in the sector to rebuild the national herd and secure a “strong, sustainable and progressive” industry that can meet growing needs.

Welsh sheep farmer Gareth Wynn Jones said export appetite remained strong, with buyers in Portugal prized Welsh mountain lambs for their Christmas roasts. But he warned that last year’s weather has affected the 2026 harvest. “There wasn’t much for them to eat, the number of pregnant ewes is down so there will be fewer lambs on the ground,” he said, indicating that strong supply and prices could continue this Easter weekend.