| Market |
Commodity |
Price Movement |
Notes |
| FRUIT & VEG -4% |
Fruit |
-3% |
UK Strawberries and Raspberries are now in season and UK gooseberries will be available from mid June.
Golden and Red Delicious and Granny Smith Apples are in the process of changing over from French to South African to ensure best quality.
Prices of Bananas are over 40% higher than the same period last year due to the poor rate of exchange, severe weather conditions during the early part of the year and now the Columbian strikes. The general forecast until September is that there should be fruit available to meet world demand which there has not been to date. |
| Vegetables |
2% |
Prices of Carrots remain extremely high with Northern Hemisphere stock now finished.
New Season Cauliflower is now available but due to the nature of this crop, the curds are flat in appearance and may bruise easily.
New Season Savoy Cabbages are now available but in short supply until mid June. Spring Greens are in full production and are very good quality.
UK Broccoli is now available.
Sugar Snaps and Mange Tout continue to be in short supply from Kenya due to the unusually poor weather.
|
| Salads |
-8% |
Salad production is in full swing and quality is excellent.
English Tomatoes, Iceberg, Cos Lettuce, Little Gems and Celery are in full production.
Capsicums are now Dutch and very good quality.
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| Market |
Commodity |
Price Movement |
Notes |
| MEAT 0.2% |
Beef |
0.2% |
UK Beef has seen a slight decrease in the price of live cattle; this should start to filter through to pricing over the coming month. Demand for steak and forequarter cuts is still high.
Imported Beef – Prices have stabilised but are still high. Fillets and Roasting joints are showing value exporters look to fill their export quota
|
| Lamb |
0.1% |
UK – Prices are still very high with abattoirs reluctant to cut into the carcass. The volume of lambs exported has increased which puts further pressure on prices; however we do expect to see some reductions towards the end of June.
NZ – Prices are static and quality is excellent but prices will rise towards the end of the year – please bear this in mind when menu planning. A number of wholesalers have already tied up large volumes with a view to capitalising on profit at year end.
|
| Pork |
0.1% |
Pork prices will continue to rise throughout the summer. Denmark, the world’s largest producer, is down nearly 3 million pigs (circa 15%) on previous years. Swine flu has had no noticeable impact on sales and with BBQ season now here expect to see sales increase. |
| Poultry |
0.5% |
Prices on fillets should remain stable however wholes birds have seen some increases due to BBQ season. Thigh meat is still at similar levels to breast meat. Turkeys are starting to increase due to reduced orders placed by UK and Italy of circa 20% |
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| Market |
Species |
Price Guide |
Notes |
| FISH 2% |
Fresh Salmon |
3% |
Prices remain high due to holidays in Europe deceasing available supply and recent good weather increasing demand for product. |
| Smoked Salmon |
No change |
|
| Haddock |
4% |
Shortage of larger fish has skewed market movement on pricing. Smaller fish should be available and at a more reasonable price. |
| Cod |
No change |
|
| Tuna |
7% |
Supplies of tuna on the open market are scarce keeping the price high. Sri Lanka especially has produced far less than expected for this time of year. Hopefully this situation should ease in time for summer demand. |
| Scallops |
No change |
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| Market |
Product Group |
Price Movement |
Notes |
GROCERY/FROZEN
June Price Review Period
Market Predictions:
- Whilst general inflation is beginning to slow down, food inflation remains high at +10.3% vs. last year.
- On a global level, some commodity prices are rising again, most notable are oils and fats, and sugar.
- Exchange rates continue to result in a weak £ which is continuing to impact on food, energy and fuel.
- The National Statistics Office’s March data also shows a continued trend of increases in the cost of energy: Electricity +44% Gas +15%, and wages +2.7.
- There remains a lot of instability across a large number of commodities, with notable examples tea, chocolate, sultanas, raisins, vinegar, mustard seeds and sugar.
- Eggs, milk and continental cheeses are all up for different reasons. Eggs are becoming more popular as a source of protein and with less public health concerns associated with eggs. The milk industry is seeing supply issues as producer numbers continue to decline, and continental cheeses have been adversely affected by the exchange rates.
- Fresh fruit and vegetables are suffering as a result of poor harvests in Eastern Europe. Volumes are being sourced from further afield at inflated costs. Some cereal crops prices are also showing inflation which has been impacting on foods like cakes and biscuits.
- Prawns in particular are up following the closure of many processing factories in Northern Europe. Meat and Poultry prices are still being affected by increased feed costs.
|
Ready Meals |
Increase |
Pricing on the main majority of Ready Meals lines remains stable, however those suppliers affected by the worsening exchange rate have now been forced to implement increases. 3663 have managed to hold off these increases for some time, but the prolonged period of low value sterling versus Euro, has meant that increases have now had to be taken to sustain supply. |
| Continental Cheese |
Increase |
The weakening of the £ against the € is resulting in significant pressure on Auk prices for Continental Cheese. The trend looks likely to continue for the foreseeable future. |
| Frozen Pizza |
Increase |
The euro has moved by around 12% in the last few months, which has had a direct impact on the Capri range of pizzas, which are sourced from Italy. |
| Canned Fruit – Mandarins and Grapefruit |
|
There have been raw material cost increases. In addition to this, conversion from the dollar/Euro to the pound has increased by circa 26%. There has also been an issue this year due to short crops, or crops of poor quality, coupled with high demand from new buyers have resulted in cost increases. |
| Canned Vegetables - Pulses, Tomatoes, Beans, Peas, Mushrooms |
|
Raw material costs have continued to increase on Navy beans, pulses and peas; in addition the euro/dollar conversion rate has compounded these increases further. Mushroom prices have risen due the cost of the raw material and cans. |
| Premier |
Ansora, Bachelors, Branston and Crosse and Blackwell |
Food inflation remains high at +9% vs. last year. The outlook remains uncertain in stability of prices. Adverse Foreign Exchange is proving one of the greatest challenges in 2009. The Euro is currently 1:1.10 having dipped below the 1:1 threshold at the end of 08. The Dollar dipping from nearly 2:1, end of 07, to 1:1.4 in the early part of 09. Increase in global demand for commodities and restrictions in supply are causing prices to rise. Coupled with the uncertainty of the global economy are likely to see further prices rises. |
| Branstons & Haywards |
There have been marked price increases on onions & tomato paste due to increased cost of agriculture and pressure from competing crops. |
| Bisto |
There have been marked price increases on onions & tomato paste due to increased cost of agriculture and pressure from competing crops. |
| Frank Cooper, Robertson's and Hartley's |
Continued price rises on pectin & citric acid are coupled with rising glass & sugar prices. Peel market prices have stabilized but at a high level. |
| Hot Beverages |
Tetley |
The future of the tea industry is looking particularly bleak as production shortfalls will be more common over the short term. This issue is driving up the auction price of Tea to around +45% over last year. Compound this with the exchange rate position and there is the potential for further increases throughout the year. |
| Twinings |
Availability issue and adverse exchange rates are driving raw material costs to levels +45% over previous 12 months. |
| Kraft |
Chocolate and Tea prices have increased over the last 12 months with future increases still predicted. Coupled with inflationary pressure on the products with above average levels of cost associated to the packaging. This has lead to the increase in the Fresh seal, in cup and singles ranges. |
Let’s go green!
We had a review meeting this week which really did centre on our HOPE (Host’s Operational Protection of the Environment) project and how we can really get things going over the coming months.
Are you the best you can be every day?
Host Head Office
