Pork sales increased in volume and value in the 12 weeks to December 3, new figures from Kantar WorldPanel show.
Pork sales increased in volume and value in the 12 weeks to December 3, new figures from Kantar WorldPanel show.
Despite prices for pork products rising by 7.4% during the period, fresh pork sales were up 2.7% year-on-year in volume and by 9.7% in value terms. Bacon volumes grew by 1.8%, with value rising by 3.5%, and 1.4% more sausage was sold at an increased value of 3.4%.
Products performing particularly well include mince, with volume up 29%, followed by leg joints (+22%) and diced or cubed pork (+20%).
Kantar attributed the growth partly to the AHDB ‘midweek meal’ campaign, which it said ‘continues to raise awareness and put pork front of mind for consumers’.
Overall Meat, Fish and Poultry (MFP) volume sales declined slightly compared to last year, although values rose through inflation.
Pork, chicken and other red meat were the only primary categories seeing volume growth this period, with pork remaining as the ‘star performer’ in both value and volume terms. While growth is slower now than it was in the previous update, it is still growing well ahead of the market.
Inflation continues to affect the primary MFP categories more than the processed markets, which are all growing in volume and seeing lower inflation levels. Consumers are responding to rising prices with a mixture of trading down and different choices about the markets, proteins and cuts they buy.
“The growth of pork is the main story in primary meat, having moved away long term decline to three consecutive periods of growth,” said Nathan Ward, Business Unit Director for MFP. “This has been fuelled by 2.1 million more trips than last year as 290,000 more shoppers buy the protein. As a result we see strong growth despite prices rising 7.4% over the period.
“Fresh processed meat and poultry are the categories showing the strongest growth at the moment, benefitting from an increase in Y for £X deals and meal deals.”
12 weeks to November
This is backed up by data from AHDB pork, which shows in the 12 weeks ending 5 November, the volume of fresh/frozen pork sold in the UK increased by over 2% on the equivalent period last year.
The average price of pork increased nearly 8% in the same period, and so total expenditure also rose by more than 10%. Considering the increased price of pork, in conjunction with increased volume sales, it would seem that demand is improving.
The average retail price of pork during October remained steady with a decline of just 1.2p/kg. Meanwhile the EU-spec APP recorded a monthly decline of 2%, standing at 156.3p/kg.
The producer share of the retail pork price declined on the previous month during October to stand at 41%, a decline of almost one percentage point. However, this is still one percentage point above the level recorded this time last year and when compared to historic levels this is still relatively high.
The average retail price remained steady with a decline of just 1.2p/kg. Meanwhile the EU-spec APP recorded a monthly decline of 2%, standing at 156.3p/kg.
