May 8, 2013

Ireland's fresh meat retail sales increase 3%

Ireland's fresh meat sales have had a 3% jump in retail sales for the start of this year, while frozen fish and frozen meat sales declined.

Peter Duggan of Bord Bia's strategic information services unit has informed his food sector clients frozen poultry is the notable exception to consumers' marked swing away from frozen meats and readymade meals in the 12 weeks to St Patrick's Day.

"Frozen fish sales were back by 14%, frozen meat was back 11% and frozen prepared meals were back by 19% compared to the corresponding period last year," Duggan told subscribers to Bord Bia's Food Alert. "Consumers have begun to switch to alternative protein sources, with frozen poultry sales 60% higher, and fresh poultry sales 11% higher, with turkey being the standout performer within this category.

Fresh meat sales recorded an increase of 3% in expenditure, reflecting strong beef and poultry sales."

The Bord Bia analyst also notes for the latest four-week period ending March 17, the fresh meat category continued to perform well, with sales 1% higher. Sales of frozen ready meals in the period were 40% behind the same time last year.

"Frozen poultry sales were almost treble the same period a year earlier," said Duggan. "However, it should be noted this is from a small base. The strong performance for poultry is not just restricted to frozen: fresh poultry sales were 8% higher during the period."

Meanwhile, citing figures from a grocery market survey by Kantar Worldpanel, Bord Bia's latest industry alert notes fresh produce makes up 14% of the grocery market which includes vegetables and fruit categories. The retail grocery market was valued at €8.9 billion (US$11.65 billion) to the year ending March 2013 - a growth of 0.2% on the previous year.

The total fresh produce retail category is currently valued at €1.23 billion (US$1.6 billion) to the year ending March 2013 which is a 3% increase in value on the previous year. An increase in the volume purchased and the overall average price have contributed to this growth. Both the volume per buyer and the frequency of purchase have increased, with the latter up by 3.6%.