Pork sales have declined in British supermarkets, new 12 week data from Kantar Worldpanel has revealed. In the 12 week period to 26 February pig meat sales were down overall, with some differences between categories.
Volumes of loin roasting joints and cuts pre-coated with marinades (a small part of the market) suffered the most, down year on year by 15% and 25% respectively. The news was brighter for mince (up 14%) and belly (up 11%). Bacon, the biggest category by sales, remain largely unchanged. Lamb continued to perform poorly in the period while beef sales were up over 2% compared with the same period a year before.
Across most categories, retail prices for pig meat for the period were quite stable for fresh/frozen pork, with only a few exceptions in other categories. Therefore, many of the volume falls also directly translated into falls in expenditure too. The retail prices of some added-value products rose in price, such as pork pies (up nearly 10%) and sausage rolls (up 6%). In the case of sausage rolls this did not impact the volume of sales. Spend on processed products overall did improve year on year in the period.
Although the weather has been distinctly changeable of late, spring is around the corner which could lend support to a market, given it is a period where demand can normally be expected to pick up.
