I can relate to that Elvis, at one stage I bought 1/2 side of a lamb for $12.
But that was about 20 + years ago, when .22 LR was $0.75 a box

Now there you go Elvis.
Your local produce is to expensive for the local customer.
Looks like a chance for someone to import some cheap lamb

Its no different over here in Oz Elvis...a leg of lamb (that is more often than not mutton anyway) can run to $30...and any other "lamb" cut is horrendously priced as well.

The most annoying part about it is that the prime cuts of any meats (beef, lamb, pork) all go overseas because the middle man...not the poor old farmer who is the producer...the middle man can, and does, charge a premium price for the meat.

When I was in the UK about 30 yrs ago, you could buy a side of NZ lamb for about 39 quid (Pounds) and back in Australia we were paying about $18 for the same. Can't do it today...far too expensive.

Cheers, Vince

Vince, I found my soapbox, sorry you might want to skip this.

Don’t get me wrong guys I am not against buying foreign goods. Lamb, American lamb is tasteless I buy N Zealand or Aussie lamb, and don’t get me started on mutton I challenge anybody to find mutton for sale in a typical American supermarket. The common American pallet can’t take anything that actually has a flavor, or may in fact require you to actually chew. I had mutton in Australia and loved it. And some of the best tasting food I have ever eaten was while traveling in Europe and Asia. My last shotgun was Russian, and the last rifle was Japanese. My point is that I am not a buy American person; I buy or try to buy what is best.

But, the companies I purchased from did not abandon any plant in this country to produce in another country to add 2% to the bottom line. Penny wise and dollar foolish, and we must make the stockholders happy or else they might sell their stock and then all of our stock options would be worth less. Oh, and we might actually have to break a sweat and figure out a novel approach to being globally competitive without moving plants. That is assuming our university degree actually taught us how to do anything productive. People who go to university to become MBA’s or career politicians are some of the most ignorant people I know, and I say this having an MBA, but I worked 25 years on the factory floor before I got it and became an executive.

I am ashamed to admit it but I have set up plants in India, China, and Mexico, what they don’t tell the stockholder is the enormous costs associated with training and adapting the native workforce. What I can say is for the last plant I set up in Mexico the government there paid the company several million dollars and agreed to no taxes for many years. Not sure who got the money but I have my suspicions.

As for cost, burger (I think Elvis called beef mince) costs anywhere from $3.98 to $5.98 a pound depending on fat content, minced lamb $8.00 a pound. Oh yeah and we pay to have up to 10% water added to our meats because some fool businessman convinced the FDA that it kept the meat juicier and tender and that is probably why cold-aged beef with no water or other additives is so cheap.

I truly believe that if you do not stand for something then you will fall for anything, just look at the liberals they fall for everything. As long as the vast majority of the mostly ignorant people in the world (not being mean-spirited here ignorance is curable, but stupid is not) continue to allow big business to pull these cost saving stunts to appease their stockholders and the stockholders continue to be so worried about what happened today instead of what is going to happen a year or two from now then we will all be serving countries that have no freedom. I guess that really won’t matter though because our collective governments have already bankrupted us all.

So anyway, I decided to take a stand (for whatever good it will do, I feel better) and have convinced many others who know me well to come along, we will not support any domestic company that does not support my people, country, morals, ethics, politics, we will not buy their products or services.

I can buy NZ lamb/goat here for about 2.40$ a pound if I am willing to eat it if its been frozen on the trip to here. Personally, I only buy it instead of Ontario lamb which has no flavor and costs more.

Dimitri

Beef mince here runs from US$2.00/lb for the cheap stuff to $4.90/lb for the lean minced steak.
Lamb is an utter rip-off, with a leg costing US$7.00/lb & lamb chops US$14/lb.
The farmers see very little of this value.
Trying to find mutton is all but impossible & I much prefer it for the stronger taste.

Dimitri wrote:

I can buy NZ lamb/goat here for about 2.40$ a pound if I am willing to eat it if its been frozen on the trip to here. Personally, I only buy it instead of Ontario lamb which has no flavor and costs more. Dimitri

What stores are you buying NZ lamb at? At Safeway and Sobeys here in PA the price is like I said in my previous post at $15-16.00/lb
Chimo
ITD

I buy it from one of the local Chinese grocery stores. Local butchers sell it for nearly the same (a buck or so more) then the Chinese place I go to.

The supermarkets have it at a terribly expensive cost, but that is because they only started to carry it because of the "health trend" that got people thinking the last decade that lamb is healthier then beef and lamb. Even their frozen stuff is out of line when here as well they want 15$ or so for fresh, but then think they can sell frozen for 12$ or so.

Dimitri

Dimitri wrote:

I buy it from one of the local Chinese grocery stores. Local butchers sell it for nearly the same (a buck or so more) then the Chinese place I go to.

um.. Are you sure they are lamb?

Dimitri wrote:

I buy it from one of the local Chinese grocery stores. Local butchers sell it for nearly the same (a buck or so more) then the Chinese place I go to.

um.. Are you sure they are lamb?

gelandangan wrote:

um.. Are you sure they are lamb?

I'm sure ... ... well I'm sure its definitely not "gou" at least.

Dimitri

Can you get it directly from the rancher? It would make more money for him and maybe save you a few dollars too.

More then likely Paul, especially if you go to one of the farmer sales they have on live stock.

There you get a kid goat for like 120$ per animal. And lamb goes for a couple of dollars per pound. At middle of the road market prices.

Dimitri

Thanks for the tip Dim. I will be finding out this week hopefully if I am getting posted to the Parry Sound area and I think that there are a few sheep farms south in the Barrie area. I also know a good chinese market that a co-worker recommended to me as being legit in Vaughan.

inthedark,

If the Chinese market is clean, or well maintained, its not really a "legit" Chinese market. Bare that in mind if a white guy tells you that there is a "good Chinese market" to you.

Dimitri