Shoppers 'face meat price rises'
UK - Meat prices are set to increase as farmers pass on the burden of surging costs, a report has suggested. The warning comes days after consumers were told to prepare for rising bread prices as wheat costs hit records.
29 August 2007
3 minute read
Bad weather in key grain growing areas such as Canada and parts of Europe has limited supplies as demand has risen, sparking fears of a grain shortfall. Some of the rising demand has come from the biofuel industry, which uses the grain to produce ethanol for cars.
Widening risks
Wheat prices surged to a fresh record of $7.44 a bushel last week on the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade market in the US, and currently stand at $7.35 a bushel.
"Consumers hold the key to a more resilient future. UK shoppers will have to pay more for their meat," said Richard Crane, food and agriculture partner at Deloitte.
"Increased prices will allow farmers to continue to meet the increasing demand for local, high quality meat. Without it, the opportunity to enjoy home-grown quality produce and British meat could become a rarity on supermarket shelves," he added.
Livestock farmer and leading National Farmers Union (NFU) official Martin Howlett told BBC Radio Five Live that while feed prices have more than doubled, returns on cattle and sheep have fallen. Ten years ago each head of cattle could bring a return of £850 to £700, he said, adding that this now stood at £600 to £700 per animal. But he also said that consumers cannot simply bear the brunt of rising costs and called on supermarkets to share out the profits made from the price of meat on supermarket shelves.
"From a business point of view they can't just put the prices up and hope that the consumer will take the knock," he said.
NFU president Peter Kendall also called on retailers to work with farmers to obtain a fair price for food producers.
Source: BBC news
Click here for further comment on soaring meat prices
Widening risks
Wheat prices surged to a fresh record of $7.44 a bushel last week on the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade market in the US, and currently stand at $7.35 a bushel.
"Consumers hold the key to a more resilient future. UK shoppers will have to pay more for their meat," said Richard Crane, food and agriculture partner at Deloitte.
"Increased prices will allow farmers to continue to meet the increasing demand for local, high quality meat. Without it, the opportunity to enjoy home-grown quality produce and British meat could become a rarity on supermarket shelves," he added.
Livestock farmer and leading National Farmers Union (NFU) official Martin Howlett told BBC Radio Five Live that while feed prices have more than doubled, returns on cattle and sheep have fallen. Ten years ago each head of cattle could bring a return of £850 to £700, he said, adding that this now stood at £600 to £700 per animal. But he also said that consumers cannot simply bear the brunt of rising costs and called on supermarkets to share out the profits made from the price of meat on supermarket shelves.
"From a business point of view they can't just put the prices up and hope that the consumer will take the knock," he said.
NFU president Peter Kendall also called on retailers to work with farmers to obtain a fair price for food producers.
Source: BBC news
Click here for further comment on soaring meat prices
