Operators warned about ‘significantly higher poultry costs for foreseeable’
One expert stated the cost of feed was one of the biggest factors in the price of poultry and the loss of graine feed from Ukraine and Russia would have a serious impact on prices.
Hospitality buying specialist Lynx Purchasing managing director Rachel Dobson said: “In addition, Ukraine and neighbouring countries such as Poland, which are facing disruption due to the invasion, are major processors of poultry, producing a range of products for the catering market.
“When you also factor in increased distribution costs driven by the spike in fuel prices, it’s clear operators will need to budget for significantly higher poultry costs for the foreseeable future.
“Our best advice is to order early, keep speaking to suppliers about availability and to keep menu descriptions flexible to allow for changes if needed.”
Food prices soaring
This comes after 2 Sisters boss Ronald Kers warned food prices could soar by 10 to 15% due to the rise in feed cost and energy, according to the BBC.
Kers told BBC’s Today programme the company had already been forced to pay 50% more for chicken it gets from farms.
In August last year, Dobson warned pubs to prepare for poultry supply issues due to the impact of Brexit and the then ‘pingdemic’.
Furthermore, in February this year a survey from UKHospitality found prices overall were expected to increase by 11% throughout 2022.
Business costs
Businesses reported a hike of 41% in energy bills, 19% in labour costs, 17% in food prices, 14% in drinks prices and 21% in insurance costs.
In the same month (December), the CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index revealed year-on-year inflation in the foodservice sector reached 3.5% in December 2021 and the report went on to predict further price increases further into 2022.
Prestige Purchasing chief executive Shaun Allen said 2022 would be remembered as the first year of significant inflation for more than a decade.
CGA client director James Ashurst added: "As the out-of-home food and drink market recovers from two years of Covid disruption, high inflation is the last thing it needs."
