Colin Holt, a former chef who owns two Hudson Meats butchers in Sydney, said the shops had experienced a surge of people coming in to buy high-quality steaks "to take home and cook themselves with a bottle of red".

An article in The Australian Financial Review says that, while Australians might be happily chomping into quality steaks, on a global scale demand is down, with ABARE expecting beef exports will fall over the next 12 months.

Signature Beef managing director Blair Angus has noticed a drop-off in demand from Asia and a resurgence in domestic demand.

"I think people are starting to recognise that branded meat means consistency and those products will improve in price," Mr Angus said.