February 21, 2007

UK's turkey sales down 30 percent after bird flu

Turkey sales across Britain fell by 30 percent after the bird flu outbreak, a market survey showed.

Shoppers spent GBP 1 million less on fresh turkey the week after H5N1 was found on a Bernard Matthews' farm.

Sales of frozen turkey, fresh turkey cuts and joints were down a-third, according to market analysts AC Nielsen. The figures were derived from sales data recorded by check-out scanners at more than 74,000 stores from major food retailers during the week ending February 10.

Bernard Matthews earlier said its sales plummeted by 40 percent after news of the bird flu outbreak was announced.

Sales of all fresh chicken dropped from GBP 34 million to GBP 31.5 million the week after the outbreak, the figures show.

AC Nielsen group MD for UK and Ireland Eleni Nicholas said that despite official assurances, there is still a significant drop in turkey sales.

Meanwhile sales of fresh beef rose from GBP 31 million to GBP 33.2 million and bacon saw a more modest increase from GBP 19.9 million to GBP 20.6 million.