Chicken could soon cost as much of beef because of rising production costs, a leading supermarket boss has warned. The chief executive of the Co-op, Steve Murrells, has warned that feed costs have become a huge challenge for the poultry industry.
He said that chicken has been incredibly cheap and good value for money, but is now rising in price quicker than any other protein. The meat has been the most popular in the UK, mainly because of the price, and sells more than beef, lamb or pork.
Mr Murrells old the Retail & eCommerce directors’ forum, that customers might switch to other meats or vegan alternatives if the price of chicken continued to soar.
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According to the Sunday Times, he said: “Customers will have to be savvy about what they can afford. They’ll buy a chicken, they’ll have it for a roast on a Sunday, but then they’ll use the giblets and whatever to make a soup. Customers will find creative ways of making food last longer.”
The UK's biggest poultry supplier, 2 Sisters, which has three sites in Wales, warned at the end of last year that prices for chicken needed to go up to reflect the cost of producing food.
The company's founder, Ranjit Boparan, said that prices will jump by more than 10 per cent with the days of a £3 chicken “coming to an end”. You can read his comments here. He warned labour shortages and commodity price rises meant less choice and higher prices.
In a March update, 2 Sisters said its input costs had rocketed. “Prices from the farm gate have already risen by almost 50% in a year."
At the moment Tesco, the UK’s biggest, is price matching Aldi on a whole chicken at £2.89 – or £2.07 per kg. Tesco’s cheapest beef mince is £3.78 per kg. A medium 1.6kg chicken at Sainsburys is £4.20, making it £2.63 per kg, while in Asda a 1.45kg chicken is £3.60, making it £2.48 per kg.
Office for National Statistics data shows the average retail price of chicken has increased by 31p, or nearly 12%, to £2.98 per kg in the last 12 months. For beef mince the price per kg is £6.78, on the back of a similar rise. The price per kg for the two meats is more closely matched on top-end products, such as organic ranges.
