Sainsbury's undercut by Aldi to stop it being cheapest…

Sainsbury's undercut by Aldi to stop it being cheapest for fresh turkeys

Fresh turkeys aren't even on the shelves of supermarkets until next week, but there's already something of a price war as we head towards Christmas.

Our price comparison revealed at the weekend how Sainsbury's planned to sell the birds for the cheapest price of all the main supermarkets. Its £4.25 per kg cost was cheaper even than Aldi and Lidl, which had both set their prices at £4.95 a kg.

But on Monday, Aldi decided to go one better, dropping its price to £4.19 a kg - and making it the cheapest of the lot. It means an average size turkey weighing 4.495kg will cost £18.83.

Its turkeys come in three sizes - a small one weighing 2kg-4.49kg and serves 6-11, medium 4.5kg-5.99kg and serving 11-14, and large 6kg-8kg, serving 15-18.

It's usually Sainsbury's which is dropping prices as part of its Aldi price match, but the budget retailer seems to have been caught off guard by Sainsbury's mission to make Christmas more affordable for families this year - with an 'inflation-busting' two-course festive meal working out at less than £4 a head.

There's a price war on fresh turkeys (Getty)

However, Aldi has still been ranked cheapest overall. Consumer finance experts CashLady.com found that a full Christmas dinner and pudding works out at £2.70 a head, when cooking for eight to 10 people.

Fresh turkeys are arriving in stores on December 19 and 20. Aldi also works out joint cheapest for a frozen turkey alongside Lidl. Both are selling those from £2.96 a kg and are already in stores.

Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi, said: "At Aldi we believe that access to tasty, high-quality food is a right – and Christmas dinner is no exception. Christmas is an expensive time for most families up and down the UK, but we’re dedicated to providing our customers with delicious, premium quality products at the lowest prices possible."

Fresh medium basted whole turkey (available from Dec 19/20)

Aldi average 4.495kg £18.83 (£4.19/kg)

Sainsbury's 5kg £21.25 (£4.25/kg)

Lidl average 4.495kg £22.25 (£4.95/kg)

Morrisons 4.5kg-5.49kg £23.45 (average £4.99/kg)

Asda from 4kg from £20 (£5/kg)

Tesco 4.5kg-5.99kg £29.95 (£5/kg)

Frozen medium basted whole turkey (prices based on top end weight)

Aldi 4kg-5.4kg £15.99 (£2.96/kg)

Lidl 4kg-5.4kg £15.99 (£2.96/kg)

Morrisons 3.9kg-5.2kg £21.99 (£4.23/kg) - reduced from Monday, December 12 to £20.99 (£4.03/kg)

Sainsbury's 3.9kg -5.2kg £22.88 (£4.40/kg)