Supermarkets have hit back at a call to freeze the price of Christmas ham, saying they’ve already slashed the cost of the festive favourite to the cheapest it has been in years.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said he was sending a “stern warning” to supermarkets to “not profit off hard-working Aussies” over the Christmas staple.
In a statement, he called for a freeze on the price of leg ham “to give families certainty ahead of the big day”.
“The traditional ham is a staple of any Christmas lunch in Australia,” he said.
“And we know families are doing it tough at the moment and the cost of a lot of things is going up.
“It’s time for supermarkets to do their part and say one thing we won’t put up is the price of a Christmas ham.”
However, both Coles and Woolworths told 9news.com.au their ham prices are already at record lows of $8/kg for Christmas.
The pair followed each other in dropping the price two months ago, on October 25.
Woolworths said its half leg of ham is the cheapest it has been since 2014, with Coles’ the cheapest for four years.
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“We really appreciate the minister recognising how Coles has lowered the cost of a Christmas favourite for Australian families,” a Coles spokeswoman said.
The price per kilogram was 50c cheaper than last year, it said.
In October, Woolworths supermarkets managing director Natalie Davis said “value is more important than ever this year”.
“Ham is the centrepiece of the Christmas table for many Australian families, so we’re excited to lower the price of our award-winning half leg ham to $8 per kilo, which is our lowest price for Christmas since 2014,” Davis said.
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The wide-ranging inquiry will look at automation and the treatment of suppliers but getting prices down will be the priority amid the rising cost of living.
The Greens secured Labor’s support for the probe into the retailers.
