- Beef price surge is influencing the cost of other meat categories
- Recent cases of bird flu are further driving poultry price increases
Katharina Erfort, Principal at the global supply chain consultancy Inverto, part of BCG, highlights that the 27.5% rise in UK beef prices over the past year represents the steepest increase recorded since at least 1988.
She explains that the closure of UK cattle farms, driven by escalating operational costs, is a major factor behind the sharp jump in prices.
Comments from Katharina Erfort, Principal at Inverto, part of BCG:
“The costs of energy, feed, and labour have been rising since the pandemic, and especially since the start of the war in Ukraine. As a result, around 8.5 percent of cattle farms have closed since 2020, and the number of cattle in the UK is declining. That is adding to price pressure.”
“Meanwhile, consumption remained at the same level, which lead to the sharp price increase we are currently facing. There are also other external factors playing into the price increase, such as changes in weather patterns. E.g last summer has been particularly dry, leading to reduced hay and sileage yields forcing up feed costs even more.”
“As a result of the price increases for beef products, we already see substitution effects. Consumers are moving to cheaper alternatives like pork and poultry, which has a knock-on effect on pork and poultry prices as well. With the first incidents of avian flu, there is an additional pressure on poultry prices.”