Beef is 60% more expensive than in 2021: the new normal
Sirloin steak at €22/kg and beef up 60% since 2021: this is how the bill at the butcher's shop is becoming the norm.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Paying €22 a kilo for sirloin steak: the new normal for the shopping basket
Is it normal for half a kilo of beef sirloin steak, a piece about 23 centimeters wide, to ring up at nearly 12 euros at the checkout? Judging by current prices, yes. A kilo comes in at around 22 euros, and anyone who buys meat regularly isn't surprised: it's within the expected range, even though it's very expensive compared to five years ago.
The price nobody questions anymore
The scene has its charm: a consumer unaccustomed to the butcher's counter orders a sirloin steak, estimates by size rather than weight, and gets an unpleasant surprise at the checkout. The market's answer is almost unanimous: at 22 euros a kilo, the half-kilo piece costs exactly that. On offer, it has been seen at 15-18 euros, and the angus varieties go up to 30-something. Paying 12 bucks for two steaks isn't an anomaly; it's the market price.
Beef is rising at twice the rate of everything else
The interesting thing isn't the receipt, it's the trend. The CPI for beef, data from July 2026, has accumulated a +60% increase since January 2021. The overall index, over the same period, is up +26.1%. Beef has risen more than double the rest of the economy, and over the last year it still stands at +9.9%. It's not "meat" in general: pork is up +30.1% and chicken +30.8% since 2021, practically flat over twelve months. The one keeping pace with beef is lamb, up +57%. The two ruminants, precisely the ones that depend on a herd that is shrinking across most of Europe.
Normal or normalized?
Two readings clash here. One holds that these are market prices and that anyone who wants quality beef pays that premium. The other sums it up with a play on words: the price isn't normal, it has been normalized; and the quality, on many shelves, doesn't match. In between lies the practical decision: some point out that the same money goes further on a bag of potatoes at 0.45 euros a kilo, although buying ten kilos also generates its own waste.
For those who prefer to sidestep the problem, there's chicken, pork, or cuts at 7-8 euros a kilo. But as everyone knows: it's not sirloin steak. And what you don't eat, doesn't go up.
Is it normal for half a kilo of beef sirloin steak, a piece about 23 centimeters wide, to ring up at nearly 12 euros at the checkout? Judging by current prices, yes. A kilo comes in at around 22 euros, and anyone who buys meat regularly isn't surprised: it's within the expected range, even though it's very expensive compared to five years ago.
The price nobody questions anymore
The scene has its charm: a consumer unaccustomed to the butcher's counter orders a sirloin steak, estimates by size rather than weight, and gets an unpleasant surprise at the checkout. The market's answer is almost unanimous: at 22 euros a kilo, the half-kilo piece costs exactly that. On offer, it has been seen at 15-18 euros, and the angus varieties go up to 30-something. Paying 12 bucks for two steaks isn't an anomaly; it's the market price.
Beef is rising at twice the rate of everything else
The interesting thing isn't the receipt, it's the trend. The CPI for beef, data from July 2026, has accumulated a +60% increase since January 2021. The overall index, over the same period, is up +26.1%. Beef has risen more than double the rest of the economy, and over the last year it still stands at +9.9%. It's not "meat" in general: pork is up +30.1% and chicken +30.8% since 2021, practically flat over twelve months. The one keeping pace with beef is lamb, up +57%. The two ruminants, precisely the ones that depend on a herd that is shrinking across most of Europe.
Normal or normalized?
Two readings clash here. One holds that these are market prices and that anyone who wants quality beef pays that premium. The other sums it up with a play on words: the price isn't normal, it has been normalized; and the quality, on many shelves, doesn't match. In between lies the practical decision: some point out that the same money goes further on a bag of potatoes at 0.45 euros a kilo, although buying ten kilos also generates its own waste.
For those who prefer to sidestep the problem, there's chicken, pork, or cuts at 7-8 euros a kilo. But as everyone knows: it's not sirloin steak. And what you don't eat, doesn't go up.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (96 replies).
More summaries
-
AI Demand Doubles Hard Drive Prices to $100 per Terabyte
Hard drive costs have doubled in months due to AI data center demand, with Seagate and Western Digital sold out through 2028, leaving little stock for consumers.
-
Aging gracefully: surgery vs. genetics at 64
Madonna and Susanna Hoffs, both 64, illustrate two opposite ways of facing aging: surgery and gym versus habits and good spirits.
-
Jeans: alternatives from €10 that last for years
A user paid €120 for two pairs of jeans with identical craftsmanship to Levi's. Forum members cite options from €10 that last for years.
-
Eating healthy on less than 3 euros a day is doable
An analysis of whether it's feasible to eat healthily and varied on less than 3 euros a day. Shopping strategies, legumes and real costs.
-
Old cars were never more reliable: myths and realities
We debunk the myth that cars used to break down less: workshop data, examples of 1990s reliability and the harsh reality of safety.
-
Buying binoculars: what nobody tells you about 10x42
250 euros on 10x42 binoculars can end up in a drawer. Why experts prefer 8x and where to find bargains with ED lenses.