10/01/08
New retail price data confirms consumers increasingly discriminate
between beef and lamb on the basis of provenance and are willing
to reflect this in the price they pay.
The data, produced for the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX),
reveals that in the four years to 2007, the average retail prices
of beef and lamb sold specifically as English have seen sustained
rises at retail level.
Compared with 2003, the average retail price of beef sold last
year as English has increased by 14.9 per cent, while beef sold
as British has increased by 9.8 per cent. This compares to
the average price of imported beef which has increased by 2 per
cent since 2003, and the average price of beef across all origins
which has increased by 8.6 per cent.
The average retail price of lamb sold as English has risen by
10.3 per cent over the same period, compared to a rise of 1.1 per
cent for British. The average retail price of lamb labelled
as New Zealand finished the period less than one per cent higher
than 2003, but this does hide considerable annual swings in average
retail price.
EBLEX Chairman John Cross called on the supply chain to recognise
the power of providing consumers with informed choice. He
urged them to use a combination of provenance and eating quality
to differentiate their beef and lamb products from the price driven
commodity markets.
“All our research shows that consumers do differentiate
on provenance and eating quality and these figures show they are
willing to back that up at the till.
“It’s clear that the EBLEX Quality Standard scheme
is playing its part in communicating this straightforward message
to consumers.”
Percentage Retail Price Movements Compared With 2003
Beef Sold As |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
Home Produced (British) |
+4.8 |
+4.1 |
+4.1 |
+9.8 |
English |
+5.4 |
+9.4 |
+13.9 |
+14.9 |
All Imports |
+1.4 |
+1.2 |
+2.0 |
+2.0 |
All Origins |
+4.2 |
+4.2 |
+5.3 |
+8.6 |
Lamb Sold As |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
Home Produced (British) |
+4.7 |
-0.5 |
-1.4 |
+1.1 |
English |
+3.3 |
+4.7 |
+7.8 |
+10.3 |
New Zealand |
+5.9 |
+9.6 |
+8.8 |
+0.8 |
All Origins |
+5.0 |
+2.9 |
+3.4 |
+4.1 |
Source: TNS. Average price data is for 52 weeks to the end
of the first week in December and covers Great Britain.
At January 2008, the Quality Standard Scheme had 2,700 members,
including retailers, wholesalers, foodservice operators, independent
butchers and farm shops.
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