Money-stressed Britons seem to be forgoing expensive cuts of meat and fish in a bid to save money as the… cost of living crisis continues to gnaw.
Sales volumes of all types of meat, fish and poultry have fallen sharply in the past 12 weeks compared to the same period last year as prices have risen and only spending on chicken has increased, although it is only a 0.6 percent increase .
It is thought that some families are switching from expensive cuts to cheaper chicken options for their protein.
Year-over-year comparisons by analysts Kantar for the grocer show that the amount of chicken sold fell 9.7 percent, compared to a 13.7 percent drop for beef, 10.6 percent for pork, 23.7 percent for lamb and 11.6 percent for fish.
It is thought that millions of families are cutting back on their intake of red meat, especially fish.
Year-over-year comparisons by analysts Kantar for The Grocer show that the amount of pork sold has fallen 10.6 percent in the past 12 weeks
The same study found that the amount of chicken sold has decreased by 9.7 percent, although spending has increased by 0.6 percent
Fish product sales have also fallen 11.6 percent in the past 12 weeks
Figures on the amount spent also suggest that many are switching to cheaper protein sources, hence the small but significant increase in value sales for chicken.
This is because the amount spent on beef has fallen by 7.7 percent, pork by 5.9 percent, lamb by 14.4 percent and fish by 8.0 percent.
Recent figures from the retail price index for food bought by casual shoppers showed that the average price of a roast cut of beef in the year to April had risen 9.8 per cent to £11.34, while chicken rose 10.4 per cent to £3 a kilo.
Elsewhere, the VoucherCodes.co.uk The Food Spend Report shows that vegans consistently spend more on groceries, dining out and takeaways than the national average, with total food spending of £14.02 billion per year (£8,760 per person).
The amount of lamb sold in the UK has fallen the most in the past 12 weeks, falling by 23.7 per cent
Beef sales are down 13.7 per cent as recent retail price index figures showed the average price of a beef roast had risen 9.8 per cent over the year to April to £11.34.
Money-stressed Britons appear to be forgoing expensive cuts of meat and fish in a bid to save money as the crisis continues to bite into the cost of living
Lamb is taken off school lunches because it’s ‘too expensive’
A Soil Association survey found that 47 percent of school meal providers face such severe price pressures that they fear being unable to meet regulatory food requirements.
Lamb is being removed from some school dinners because it is “too expensive” and the meat content of hamburgers has been reduced from 80 percent to 50 percent as caterers try to cope with rising food costs.
A survey by the Soil Association found that 47 percent of school meal providers fear they will not be able to meet food requirements required by law.
Ben Jonson Elementary School in Tower Hamlets – which cooks meals for about 600 children – has put vegetables into burgers so they use less meat and serve smaller portions. Lamb has disappeared from the menu for cost reasons.
‘There are constant replacements,’ says kitchen manager Pauline Gati.
Laira Green Primary School in Plymouth had previously served local Cornish beef for Thursday’s roast dinners, but has now switched to cheaper gammon.
It also serves less chicken and replaces it with turkey.
The school is one of nearly 70 in the city served by the same catering company, which is adjusting menus in response to price increases, the BBC reported.
This means that vegan consumers spend almost a third more than the national average on groceries (£2,802 per person), and twice the national average on food (£4,488 per person).
Vegetarian consumers also spend more than the national average on groceries each year, averaging £2,928 per capita per year. As a result, supermarket chains earn £4.68 billion each year from vegetarian consumers.
The report found that meat-free alternatives drive up grocery costs for vegan and vegetarian consumers. Vegans spend an average of £35 a month buying meat substitutes such as Tofu, Quorn and Seitan, with vegetarians following shortly after at £27 a month. By contrast, the average carnivorous shopper spends just £21 on meat.
Glesni Phillips, a data analyst for Meat Promotion Wales, told The Grocer: ‘In previous periods when living standards were under pressure, there may have been shifts in demand for different proteins.
‘All proteins see their average price rise, but fish remains the most expensive protein, followed by lamb, and despite one of the largest price increases, chicken remains the cheapest protein.
“Product choice is the primary way shoppers choose to manage inflation right now, so shoppers switch between cuts to save money.”
Many in the industry believe the declines are not part of the growing vegetarian movement, but a response to higher prices affecting all sectors, not just meat products.
Oils, sauces, spreads, dairy products and many other products have suffered from price increases due to runaway inflation, particularly for production costs resulting from the war in Ukraine and its impact on energy.
Rebecca Veale of the National Pig Association, added: ‘We know that consumers love to buy UK pork, we don’t believe any reduction in consumption should crowd out UK produce and rely on retailers and food service to buy UK meat. promote it and pay a fair price for it .
‘To keep British pork on the shelves, a fair price has to be paid to producers.’