Dr Zoe Davies wins top pig award
BEEF SALES have plummeted by 9.1% over the summer
INFLATION and the ever increasing cost of living crisis is having a worrying effect on the amount of protein consumed in the UK, with the latest report on volume sales for meat, fish and poultry down by 6.6%.
Huge changes lie a head too when the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) predicts that the cost of food and drink is set to reach a peak rate of 17-19% year-onyear inflation in early 2023, before a slow run-down over the subsequent 12 months.
AHDB has nevertheless pointed out that food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose to 16.4% in October 2022, suggesting the industry could have reached these levels sooner than expected.
As a result, the increased demand for practical dishes that are fast and easy to prepare looks set to continue, if the latest data from Kantar for the week ending September 2022, is anything to go by.
The figures for the summer months show chicken and pig meat remained firm favourites with both seeing slight growth on prepandemic volume levels from a total retail perspective. No protein was able to increase volume growth on 2021. Overall, the value of meat,
fish and poultry grew by 1.5% in the summer of 2022, but, volumes declined 6.6%.
During this summer, 62% of pork servings – a record high – were made with practicality in mind. Versatility and price made pork a popular protein with sliced cooked meats, bacon and sausages making up more than 50% of share. Mince, burgers and grills saw strong volume growth versus last year, both up 10.8% based the latest data from Kantar.
Beef volumes saw a yearon-year decline of 9.1% with all cuts contributing to its negative performance. However, roasting, stewing and steaks were the worst performing cuts in the summer.
Beef burgers and grills are still a staple for summer, contributing 14.7% of beef volumes, the second most important cut after mince (23.7%). Both cuts are essential in holding up overall beef performance, with 6.1m kg of burgers and grills purchased during the average four-week summer period compared to 3.7m kg the rest of the year. Premium tier and branded burgers and grills saw significant year-onyear declines, with standard ranges holding steady, suggesting consumers are
DR Zoe Davies has been awarded the David Black Award in recognition of her invaluable contribution to the pig industry.
The accolade which is warded to an individual or organisation that has made an outstanding impact on the British pig sector, was presented by Defra minister, Mark Spencer, at the National Pig Awards in London on Tuesday.
Dr Zoe Davies has been actively involved in the sector for many years and up until
July of this year, was chief executive of the National Pig Association (NPA), a position she held for eight years having been with the NPA for 14 years.
Due to her unrivalled expertise and tenacity, she was continually able to shape government policy, facedown threats to the industry and give NPA’s members the strongest possible voice in every forum.
In the last two years, Zoe has led the industry through one of the most challenging periods it has ever faced. Her skills in representing the concerns of her members meant that she had the ear of key decisionmakers in government, who subsequently convened roundtables and implemented measures to support the sector. As the public face of the pig industry, she was able to use her high profile with the media to generate public sympathy for the challenges facing it.
DR ZOE Davies has been recognised for her superior work in the pig industry