Figures obtained by Kantar Worldpanel have revealed that chilled fish has continued its downward trend in volume for the 12 weeks ending 8th October, in the face of high inflation in natural and smoked fish.
The category enjoyed a 0.9% increase in value, while smoked fish was down 4.1% in value and 12.5% in volume.
Similarly, natural fish was up 3% in value, but fell by 11.6% in volume, with inflation putting continued pressure on consumers in the Meat, Fish and Poultry sector.
On the other hand, red meat and poultry have returned to value and volume growth in the 12 weeks ending 8th October, with pork remaining the “star performer”, according to the data.
Despite grocery inflation being currently at 3.2%, rising prices have not driven a volume loss in pork, with 4.5% more pork having been bought in the period compared to last year, while in terms of value, it was up 10.9%.
Nathan Ward, business unit director for Meat, Fish & Poultry, commented: “When we look at the proteins in more detail, pork continues to be the star performer. A recent AHDB marketing campaign on television and in-store promoted the use of pork at the mid-week evening meal, and despite inflation pushing up prices, pork continues to grow volume as we see 2.28m more trips this year.
“The growth is coming from a number of cuts, with leg roasts up 31% in volume, mince up 34% and steaks up 9%.”
Elsewhere, beef has returned to volume growth by 0.3% year-on-year, with marinades and stewing beef driving it, while mince volumes remained “fairly flat”. In value terms, beef was up 3.7% year-on-year.
Poultry does not seem to have been impacted by recent stories about the poultry supply chain, as both primary and processed poultry are in growth.
In primary chicken, this has been aided, according to Kantar Worldpanel, by increased promotional support, up 21%, which has helped to keep prices down.
Chicken breasts are seeing volume growth of 5.4%, driven by an additional 380,000 shoppers, with prices being down 1.7% in the latest 12 weeks.
Whole birds are also seeing faster growth at 6.9%, as prices fall by 4.1%, attracting 550,000 more shoppers over the period.
Fresh processed poultry is also on the up, driven by 6.9 million trips and 470,000 more shoppers buying into the quick and easy meals the category offers.
Lamb was down 0.3% in value terms year-on-year, along with volume, which also fell by 3%.
Turkey was also in the negative, with 10.4% loss in value and 11.2% in volume for the same period year-on-year.
