British market sees grocery thriving and small abattoirs closing
Large cutting plants and abattoirs in the UK remained open last months, although "running on 3 cylinders" as some voices from the industry have put it but other small enterprises in the field have been shut down by the coronavirus crisis.
"10 small slaughterhouses have closed and 51 cutting plants (of which 38 are poultry) have closed mainly due to the drop in demand from foodservice sector", informed British Meat Processors Association.
On the other hand, foodservice closure initiated in the country has increased grocery sales to a record level, according to a recent AHDB report. " An extra £1.4 billion was spent on food and drink in the four weeks to 22 March 2020, compared to the same period last year. That’s equivalent to an extra £21.08 spent per person, an uplift of almost 22%. Spend on red meat outperformed the total grocery market, particularly processed pork and beef mince. Lamb's uplift was more subdued," said AHDB, quoting Katar's data for March.
A critical period for sales was between Monday 16 and Thursday 19 March. Over these four days, there were an extra 42 million shopping trips made, with 88% of households visiting a grocer. The week began with social distancing being advised by government and ended with the closure of all pubs, restaurants and cafes. Kantar estimates that 503 million meals which would normally have been eaten out-of-home will now take place at home every week, mostly lunch and snacks.
Meat, fish and poultry grew ahead of the market, with spend up nearly 24%, according to Kantar data. During the four weeks to 22 March, fresh meat remained the bulk of purchases, accounting for 77% of volume. Sales of fresh meat rose 20% in volume terms, but frozen and ambient (canned) meat products exceeded this – growing by 31% and 73% respectively. This indicates that shoppers have stockpiled items with a longer shelf life (while likely also freezing fresh products).
For the beef category, shoppers bought more mince, with volumes up 45% over the four week period. However, all primary beef cuts experienced significant increases in volume, with roasting up 51% and steaks up 20%. Burgers were also up 38% - they are the top dish eaten out of home, so people are likely to be cooking them more in-home as they can’t visit pubs and restaurants.
For pork, bacon and sausage volumes were up 22% and 33% respectively during the 4-weeks ending 22 March. The AHDB/YouGov Consumer Tracker shows that people think sausages are easy to cook and suitable for mid-week meals, making them a good fridge/freezer staple during times like these. Sliced cooked meat volumes grew by 10%. With school closures/lockdown coming after this data period, the impact of the loss of the carried-out lunch is yet to be fully felt – with ham being a key lunchbox staple.
Primary pork volumes were also up 10%, to a lesser extent than processed pigmeat and the other primary proteins. Leg and shoulder joints actually experienced a loss of volume, however loin roasting and chops grew 52% and 36% respectively.
For lamb category, sales reported show the smallest uplift of the key proteins, 12%. Pricing could be a challenge here, as indicated by the fact that leg steaks, the most expensive cut on average, declined by 18% in volume. However, mince volumes – the most affordable cut – rose 28% and roasting joints were also in strong growth, especially shoulder, which was up 19% in volume, according to AHDB report.
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