Lamb prices have seen a steady fall for Victorian farmers, so why is meat still expensive on the supermarket shelf?
Despite the drop at sale yards, industry data shows the price of lamb has dropped by less than 10 per cent.
However, those processing, transporting and selling the meat have told 9News their costs have also surged, saying it could take months for the price to decline for consumers.
Farmer Scott Young said he had never seen "prices fall so quickly".
"It's happened within a matter of three or four months," he said.
"As farmers, we are not prepared for this and we are not ready."
Young is getting $4.70 a kilo for the lamb he produces, a price crash resulting from mass selling ahead of an El Nino summer.
"It's very frustrating that consumers aren't getting cheaper meat," he said.
Industry data shows lamb bought on the farm has collapsed 50 per cent in the last year, with lamb bought at the shop down less than 10 per cent.
Former ACCC chairman Allan Fels said an official investigation was needed into the supply chain that separates the paddock and plate.
"It's the person in the middle," he said.
"We need to look at much more closely as to whether they're price gouging. It's fully understandable consumers are confused about the price of lamb."
Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive Patrick Hutchinson said the problem was due to labour shortages in the supply.
He said there was nothing unfair going on.
"Everyone needs to provide evidence in regards to profiteering, we are not seeing that," Hutchinson said.
"I'm always happy to answer the questions because inevitably what it does is it's about that further education."
The industry said it took about eight months for price falls at the farm to end up on the shelf.
