Beef mince, long seen as the most affordable red-meat option for households, is losing that status as prices continue to surge.
RaboResearch senior animal protein analyst Jen Corkran said food prices had risen across the board, but beef mince had jumped far faster than most staples.
New Stats NZ figures showed in the year to October, overall food prices rose 4.7 percent, but the average price of a one-kilogram pack of beef mince climbed 18 percent.
Corkran said mince was now averaging $23.17 per kilo, meaning it was actually slightly more expensive than lamb chops, which sat at $22.27.
She said the price spike came down to global demand for red meat.
"New Zealand exports most of our beef, 80-odd percent, and our biggest market, actually, the most volume is going over to the United States, where their cattle herd is at sort of multi-decade lows.
"As they look to rebuild their herd, they're short of this lean trim product, which is essentially the same as our beef mince in the supermarket and so our local retailers are having to pay more to get hold of that product because they're competing against global buyers and that's really pushing those mince prices up.
"What's happening with that US beef market at the moment is directly impacting what we're paying for mince here."
Corkran said with mince traditionally seen as the go-to budget option for families, its rapid price climb could change buying habits.
She said mince could stay expensive for several years while the US herd recovers.
In the meantime, she expected shoppers to trade to cheaper proteins like pork and poultry, or buy less mince and bulk it out with vegetables to make it go further.
It came as high beef prices were also hitting the bottom line of McDonald's New Zealand.
Last year, McDonald's used 6000 tonnes of locally-sourced beef for sale domestically, and it exported nearly 30,000 tonnes of it, making up around 10 percent of New Zealand's total beef exports.
McDonald's New Zealand's head of impact and communications Simon Kenny said globally the chain served 70 million people a day, using 2 percent of the world's beef.
He said price swings locally could have a material impact on the operating costs of its restaurants.
"Like everyone's seen in the supermarkets, beef's been one of the biggest ones," he said.
