Research conducted by online catering marketplace, Caterwings, has detailed the cost of meat in over 50 countries worldwide, with Switzerland coming at the top of the list, at 141.9% more expensive meat prices than the average cost worldwide.
The 2017 Meat Price Index calculated the affordability of meat in each country by taking into account the relative number of hours a person on minimum wage must work to buy each type of meat.To create the index, Caterwings looked at the top meat producing and consuming countries around the globe, focusing on beef, chicken, pork, lamb and seafood.Switzerland was the country with the most expensive meat prices in all categories, while Norway was the second more expensive than the average cost worldwide, at 63.7%, and Hong Kong third at 61%.Ukraine was found to have the least expensive meat prices, at 52.3% less expensive than the average cost, closely followed by Malaysia, at 50.3%.The UK’s cost of beef was found to be 8.7% more expensive compared to the world average, while chicken prices were 0.4% less expensive than the average, along with pork at 16.8% and lamb at 15%.Elsewhere, within the top ten most expensive countries, four are in Asia, while the remaining six are split between Northern and Western Europe, while within the top ten least expensive countries, five are in Asia, two in Central and Southern America, two in Eastern Europe and one in Northern Africa.Australia has the highest meat consumption at 111.5kg/person, while India has the lowest, at 4.4kg/person.Caterwings’ managing director, Susannah Belcher, highlighted that the index has raised some “important questions” regarding meat’s accessibility for people around the world and added: “It is clear that international inequality exists, and as the world begins to rethink the implications of globalisation, this study clearly demonstrates that food prices ought to be on the agenda.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
