According to the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers’ (AIMS) November inflation report, even though it is decreasing, food inflation is “still too high”.
Tony Goodger, head of communications for AIMS, commented: “The AIMS meat and poultry inflation report for November shows that on average prices across beef, lamb, pork and chicken rose by just 0.41%.
“Whilst beef remains slightly higher on the previous month at +0.35%, falls in lamb (-0.12%) and chicken (-1.23%) kept the overall inflation figure low.”
The report detailed that the one increase was in pork, which rose by 2.58% and was driven by a 12.35% jump in the price of fillet.
Goodger continued: “It is of note that several supermarkets and food magazines have recently published recipes for pork Wellington, encouraging consumers to switch from beef fillet, which in turn could be leading to some supply-side issues.
“In the 12 months to 29th November, meat and poultry prices have risen by 14.29%, which is far faster than overall food inflation, with beef rising by £4.78kg (31.41%) –with lean mince (+46.6%) and standard mince (+32.94%) leading the way.
“With the exception of pork, which is slightly cheaper than 12 months ago (-0.99%), both lamb (+6.8%) and chicken (+6.56%) continue to outpace overall food inflation.
“December will, as always, be an interesting month across the meat and poultry channel as supermarkets use highly competitive pricing strategies on roasting joints to try to encourage footfall and gain maximum share of Christmas consumer spend.
He concluded: “With the announcement of African swine fever in Spain, I do expect to see fresh pork prices rise in the coming weeks as demand across the EU places pressure on the supply side.”
