News Milk
Meat and dairy clearly popular with British consumers
British consumers are more likely to opt for meat and dairy products in supermarkets than a year ago. This is evident from new figures from research agency Kantar. Ground beef, cheese and milk in particular form an essential part of the British diet at the start of the year. The high demand for dairy is also visible in the worldwide dairy quotations.
The latest data from research firm Kantar shows that supermarket sales of red meat in the United Kingdom rose by more than 15% in January, compared to the same month a year ago. Dairy products are also clearly popular with British consumers. The sales are about 12% higher than last January. Especially the sales figures of minced meat, cheese and milk contribute to the growth percentages of the above categories.
Sales of red meat and dairy have shown solid growth since the start of the corona measures. For example, in the 12 weeks leading up to January, red meat sales volumes have already increased by 18%. In addition, the British bought an average of 5 liters more milk in those weeks than in the period before the corona crisis. Sales of fresh cream rose by 21% and cheeses (especially specialty cheeses) were also not available.
Prices up worldwide
The fact that there is currently a lot of demand for dairy products is also visible on the various worldwide dairy quotations. The Global Dairy Trade showed tuesday 2 march see an increase for the eighth time in a row. In particular, the prices of whole milk powder (+21%) and butter (+13,7%) rose considerably there. The average dairy price on the Global Dairy Trade has now risen by 40% since mid-November.
The fact that cream is not only a popular product in the United Kingdom DCA quotes see. There, cream rose last week by €280 per ton to the highest level since the end of 2019. The limit of €5.000 per ton is expected to be broken in the coming weeks. Butter also did well. The DCA quotation for that product rose by no less than €395 per tonne.
In short: dairy is not only in demand in the United Kingdom. Here and elsewhere in the world, too, there is more demand for dairy products. Globally, this demand is largely driven by the corona crisis. Many consumers cook for themselves and they also pay more attention to their health. Earlier on it has already been outlined that this trend will continue in the coming months, which is good news for the dairy market.
Growth in alternatives
At the same time, strong growth can be seen in plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy. Kantar's figures indicate that sales of meat-free products in the United Kingdom have increased by approximately 13% in the last quarter. However, it is a small amount (less than 2% of the whole), according to AHDB. "Although alternatives are showing growth, these are often additional purchases to bring variety to the diet, instead of taking a step towards less meat and dairy consumption."
Uit Previous research It also turned out that the majority of British people do not (yet) see a point in following a completely plant-based diet. This is in contrast to many other countries, where the vegetable market is gaining more and more market share.
Kimberly Baker
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