Beef sales fall as consumers reject ready-meals

Volume sales of fresh and frozen beef fell in every category apart from second quality stewing meat…

Volume sales of fresh and frozen beef fell in every category apart from second quality stewing meat where it increased by just 0.1%. The biggest decreases were seen in frozen ready-meals, which were down 16%, and chilled ready meals, down 13%.

Volume of sales also fell at the premium end of the market, where first-quality stewing beef fell 15.4%, although sales of first- and second-quality roasting beef decreased by a smaller 2.9% and 4.8% respectively.

Overall consumers spent 3.8% more over the year, buying 2.9% less beef.