The proportion of British pigmeat products on display in major UK retailers in July was unchanged on May in all four categories, but there was a drop on the July figures 2023, the latest AHDB Porkwatch survey showed.
Pork: Overall, 87% of pork products on display were British, compared with 88% in July 2023 and a recent high of 89% in November 2023.
Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S and Sainsbury’s all stocked 100% British, with Waitrose on 96% (100% own label), Tesco 77% and Asda 59%, slightly down on a year ago. Iceland stocked just 3% British.
Bacon: The July figure of 54% British was down from 55% a year ago.
The Co-op and M&S were the only two retailers to stock 100% British, with Waitrose on 93% (100 own label) and Sainsbury’s, 79%, down on last year. Morrisons was 51%, with Tesco (36%), Asda (27%), Aldi (19%), Lidl (17%) and Iceland (14%) lagging behind.
Ham: The overall figure for ham of 62% was down from 64% in July 2023.
M&S led the way with 99%, followed by Co-op (96%) and Waitrose (90%), Sainsbury’s (83%) and Aldi (77%). Tesco was on 59%, with the poorest performer being Iceland (12%), and Lidl (31%), Asda (26%) both well down on last year, and Morrisons on 36%.
Sausage: The overall of figure of 78% was unchanged on last year, although the own-brand figure in this category was 99%.
M&S again led the way on 99%, followed by Aldi and Waitrose, both on 97%, and Lidl (91%). Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda all stocked in excess of 70% British, with Co-op on 66% and Iceland 51%.
Retail sales
Kantar data for the 12 weeks to August 4 showed a 1.3% decline in retail sales volumes of all pigmeat products, with spend fractionally up (0.2%) due to prices being 1.6% higher.
Primary pork sales volumes declined by 0.8%, despite notable increases in mince (+8.7%) and bellies (+4.3%).
Processed meat sales declined by 1.7%, despite increases in burgers and grill sales (+5.1%) and sausages (+1.7%), as bacon and sliced cooked meat recorded notable declines.
Added value performed well, led by sous vide (+24.2%) and ready to cook (11.3%).