FDBusiness.com

New statistics show that UK poultry prices have risen at the slowest rate of nine different meat and fish categories, at an average rate of 1.6% per annum over the last 27 years. Data from the British Office for National Statistics revealed that since January 1987, poultry prices have risen by just 44.3% to December 2014. This compares to an increase of 118.5% for beef, 136.6% for pork and 155.4% for fish the same period.

Prices for lamb and fresh fish have seen the largest increase in the period analysed, with an average annual rate of 6.9% and 6.4% respectively.

Andrew Large, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, comments: “The small increase of poultry prices is explained by regular improvement in industry efficiencies over the past 27 years that are passed on to consumers. Poultry meat remains the best value meat for families in the UK and makes a strong contribution to the country’s GDP. We are proud that poultry makes up almost half the meat eaten here in the UK and look forward to continuing to produce high-quality, nutritious and affordable food.”

The British Poultry Council is the leading representative organisation for companies and individuals engaged in breeding, hatching, rearing and processing chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese to produce poultry meat. BPC member companies are responsible for producing 900 million birds per year, which is over 90% of total UK poultry meat. Poultry is worth around £2 billion at farm-gate and £4.4 billion at retail. BPC member companies directly employ 35,000 and indirectly support another 30,000. Poultry accounts for almost half (46%) of the meat consumed in the UK.