The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Republic has made little difference to the weekly shopping basket.
Supermarkets and butchers are not reporting any fall-off in consumer demand for meat. Consumers seem to have got the message that foot-and-mouth is an animal health issue rather than a risk to humans.
Retail prices have remained largely stable over the past week, following rises of between 20 and 30 per cent in lamb, and 7 to 15 per cent in pork, the preceding week. A spokeswoman for Tesco said there were no difficulties with supply. "The price pressure had come from wholesalers. This has levelled off over the past week," she said.
Superquinn also said meat prices were stable with no supply problems. Only one item, unpasteurised cheese from Co Louth, had been taken off the shelves in response to the outbreak, said a spokesman.
The chief executive of the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland, Mr Pat Brady, said demand was above average for this time of year. There is an expectation that prices will come down soon.
Dunnes Stores said there was no fall-off in demand for pork, lamb and beef, while demand for fish and chicken had risen significantly.
Supervalu and Centra reported an "unprecedented" 20 per cent increase in off-licence sales.