Retail sales of beef in Britain have grown by more than 12% to a total of £551million in the 12 weeks to November, according to the latest data from consumer research specialists Kantar Worldpanel.
Overall, during the first ten months of 2020, British retailers have sold 14.6% more beef than last year in terms of volume, with sales of premium cuts such as steaks up even more (18.5%).
In 2019, 53.1% of beef bought by retail consumers in Britain was in the form of mince, rising to around 58% during the panic buying period in March. In the most recent data, this figure has fallen to 51.9%, which is positive news for the beef sector.
The results follow a substantial marketing push from the Welsh levy body, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) which aimed to help support meat sales following the impact of Covid-19.
"The challenge now will be retaining the new customers who have been more adventurous in their home-cooking in recent months."
HCC data analyst, Glesni Phillips, said: “It’s reassuring to see beef performing extremely well in the GB retail sector, as foodservice and hospitality continue to be hit by Covid restrictions. This is an important driver of the current strong prices farmers are receiving.
“The statistics on mince are noteworthy. Selling over half the total volume of beef at relatively low prices as mince has impacted the profitability of the sector during recent years. The challenge now will be retaining the new customers who have been more adventurous in their home-cooking in recent months.
“HCC is intensifying its campaign to promote PGI Welsh Beef in the run-up to Christmas, prioritising the GB retail market as the outlook for exports to Europe and the foodservice trade in general remains uncertain.”
Currently, average prices for prime cattle at market are well above the 5-year average, according to HCC.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
