IARN — Consumer demand for lamb increased considerably during 2020. While all meat sales grew as more meals were consumed at home, lamb sales grew at a larger percentage than total meat sales overall, according to the American Lamb Board’s latest U.S. Retail Sales Report.
The 2021 first-quarter report assesses the American lamb market by comparing four-week, 12-week, and 52-week intervals to one year prior. Last year saw a 24.7 percent increase in lamb dollar sales from 2019 and a 17.7 percent increase in pounds sold from 2019. Sales of racks exploded in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. Compared to 2019, rack sales increased 52.8 percent in terms of pounds sold.
Sales of ground lamb also saw considerable growth, a 23.7 percent increase in volume sales. Meanwhile, sales of lamb in the first quarter of 2021 outperformed the same 12 weeks a year ago by a sizable margin as dollar sales increased 19.8 percent and volume sales increased 11.8 percent.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network
Photo courtesy of American Lamb
