8.3%

Butchery

Fruit & Vegetables

Food Inflation

What’s in season for April?



• Asparagus

• Wild Garlic

• Peas & Broad Beans

• Jersey Royals

• Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Shortage Update

The temperature in Spain, The Canary Islands, Southern Italy and Morocco are still very mild and continues to cause major shortages leading to price increases across the sector. The results of these issues are that the crops haven’t ripened/grown properly, so we will begin to see smaller or unavailable lines. With product demand still high, we continue to see a drop in standards for certain products and volatile pricing.

Availability issues

• Lettuce - Cos, Frisee, Little Gem, Rocket, Iceberg, Lambs Leaf, Spinach, Baby Leaf

• Peppers

• Tomatoes

• Berries

• Mushrooms

• Carrots

Commodities Report

Lamb

Lamb prices normally increase in the lead up to Easter. However, this year we have seen particularly steep increases for the last couple of months. This has been driven in part by a decline in the production in the UK and by smaller animals being slaughtered. Increased input costs and dry conditions last year, as well as high feed prices are behind this.

Eggs

The NFU calculates that UK egg production has fallen to its lowest level in nine years, while UK egg packers packed almost 1bn fewer eggs in 2022 than they did in 2019. These unprecedented pressures on the egg market have meant that prices continue to rise, and unfortunately cannot be completely absorbed by egg producers, packers or wholesalers. Therefore, regrettably we will no doubt see further increases in the near future on the list below.

Pork

Pork cuts continue to rise steeply. The driving factors are significant reduction in the number of pigs going to slaughter and the rising costs of feeding and farming. This is exacerbated by the high demand from the Far East and African Swine Flu.

No hospitality roles recommended for shortage occupation list

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has not recommended the addition of any hospitality roles to the shortage occupation list, which would make it easier for businesses to recruit from abroad.

In the report, the MAC said it had not received "substantial evidence which proves that shortage cannot be filled with domestic recruitment". "For the few hospitality occupations at skill level RQF 3-5 in-scope, we do not feel that we have sufficiently clear evidence that these specific occupations are in shortage, or, that a lower salary threshold would be sensible," the report said.

Fish & Seafood

Salmon

Industry data suggests that prices will not fall away significantly until June. Farmers have a tendency to cut back on harvest volumes this time of year when the water is cooler and the fish feed less. This creates shortages and pushes up prices as we go into the spring season. Salmon farmers have reported that everything from feed price inflation to labour costs have taken a toll. Additionally, the proposed Norwegian salmon tax is adding uncertainty and may further dampen supply growth.

Flat Fish

Spring is a mixed season for flat fish with plaice remaining out of season for most of March, but quality expected to improve as we head into April. Prices remain very firm currently on plaice and we are not expecting much better value due to a large proportion of the Dutch fleet signing up for their government’s buy-out ruling. Circa 40 of the 120 trawlers which fish for plaice and sole in the North Sea will be left, and that will have a knock-on impact for the rest of the industry. The development of offshore wind farms, the effects of Brexit, and high fuel prices have all been cited as having an impact