Lamb prices rise 21% over Easter – as experts blame climate change

With Easter only a few days away, many Brits will be stocking up for Sunday roasts.

But if you have lamb on the menu, a new study suggests it could cost you.

Experts from Zero Carbon Analytics for the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) have warned that bad weather has increased lamb prices by between seven and 21 percent.

For the 2.6 million UK households that regularly eat lamb, this has added up to £168 in extra costs over the past three years, according to experts.

“As families and communities sit down to celebrate this Easter, the costs of climate change are hitting,” said Chris Jaccarini, soil, food and agriculture analyst at ECIU.

‘Lamb prices are through the roof after drought, extreme heat and heavy rains have affected farmers’ costs of production, stunting grass growth and preventing the damaged grass they rely on to recover.

‘With beef and dairy prices rising following similar adverse weather effects on production, it is clear that climate change poses a significant and worsening challenge to livestock farmers.

‘As the current oil price crisis threatens to bring another rate of food price inflation, without rapid progress towards net zero to restore stability to our climate, as well as more investment in the assurance of our farmers, the affordability of food is worryingly exposed to this worsening crisis.’

For their analysis, the team turned to Met Office data collected over the past four years.

This included extreme heat in 2022, record rainfall in 2023 and 2024, and the UK’s hottest spring and summer on record in 2025.

They then combined this information with market data from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to model the impact of extreme weather on farmgate prices.

The results revealed how drought and extreme heat in 2022 raised prices by 11 percent, while wet weather in 2023 and 2024 caused prices to rise by 25 percent.

Meanwhile, the latest drought by 2025 has led to a 13 percent increase.

‘This was due to the effect of grass growth due to these extreme weather conditions,’ the team explained.

As for what this means for consumers, researchers estimate that the wet winter of 2023/2024 added an extra £5 (17.5 per cent) to the price of lamb in Easter 2024, and £7 (21 per cent) to the price of Easter last year.

Sofie Jenkinson, Co-Director of Round Our Way, an organization that supports people affected by climate change in the UK, said: ‘We are constantly talking to people who have noticed and are struggling with rising food costs and food shortages.

With Easter only a few days away, many Brits will be stocking up for Sunday roasts. But if you have lamb on the menu, a new study suggests it could cost you (stock photo)

From small businesses and pubs to families and farmers themselves, the bad weather we’re seeing in the UK is affecting dinner plates across the country.

‘This happens every day, every week for families when important things are going on but it also affects festive times, where families get together, like Easter and Christmas before it.’

If you don’t eat lamb, you may be suffering this Easter.

Researchers show that the price of Easter eggs has risen by two-thirds in just three years, after heavy rains, drought and heat in West Africa, where cocoa is produced.