Popular holiday goods have become more expensive than the overall rate of food inflation, according to study Avian flu has killed half of the free-range turkeys intended for Christmas, a poultry boss warns. According to a study of the food costs at major supermarkets, the average cost of Christmas dinner will increase by more than 20% this year.
This holiday season, the rising cost of living is straining the finances of many households. Assosia, a retail analysis company, conducted research to determine how much the cost of goods that are typically on the dinner table on December 25 will be affected by rising prices.
The company studied the price increases year over year across a variety of retailers, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, and Aldi click and collect. A simple Christmas dinner consisting of a frozen medium-sized turkey, stuffing balls, Brussels sprouts, pork chipolatas roast potatoes, onion gravy, and mince pies will cost £30.03 on average to feed five people.
Based on prices as of November 29, this is less expensive than the £24.67 that the identical things cost one year prior.:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/food-prices-going-up-FT-BLOG0321-15541bfbcbee45cd81a7690567e083b5.jpg)
Chipolatas, which are commonly used to make the holiday favorite pigs in blankets, saw the biggest price increase on the list, rising by 42%. However, at 15.4%%, the price increase for premium chipolatas was less significant. With the exception of Brussels sprouts, the cost of every item analyzed had increased faster than the headline inflation rate, which, according to the Office for National Statistics, reached a 41-year high of 11.1% in the 12 months leading up to October.
They are also also higher than the historically high headline rate of food inflation, which the British Retail Consortium last week pegged at 12.4% and whose records date back to 2005. As price pressures remain unabated, the upcoming winter appears more and more gloomy, according to BRC CEO Helen Dickinson.
“Christmas cheer will be dimmed this year as people cut back on festive spending to prioritize the fundamentals,” she continued, “even though there are indicators that cost pressures and price surges might start to lessen in 2023.” The British Poultry Council warned consumers this week that there will be a “huge, major shortage” of free-range turkeys this Christmas because 600,000 of them had either died or been culled as a result of avian flu, which is around half the number usually raised for the holiday season.
According to studies, the price of common Christmas dinner fare has increased significantly.
According to studies, the price of common Christmas dinner fare has significantly increased.
Up to nine million turkeys are generally raised for Christmas, but according to the council’s chief executive Richard Griffiths, the greatest avian influenza outbreak in the nation has already claimed about a million of those birds.
Mr. Griffiths responded, “I don’t know, what that might entail for prices this Christmas. Retailers should truly answer that query. At this time, we are unsure of how the retail industry’s holes will be addressed.
According to Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, the cost of energy and animal feed has increased due to the conflict in the Ukraine, while wages have increased due to labor shortages brought on by Brexit. These cost increases have negatively impacted the pork industry over the past year. Mr. Allen told the BBC, “I think you’re seeing less demand for the higher value things.” The kind of items that, dare I say it, have had a significant amount of value added to them.
