Farmers have culled 3.5m birds this year – nearly a third of the country’s production – and have been ordered to keep flocks on lockdown to prevent outbreaks, reported The MailOnline.
From 7 November, birdkeepers must keep flocks housed 'until further notice', the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has ruled.
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Buying specialist Lynx Purchasing managing director Rachel Dobson said: “Poultry producers are dealing with the impact of avian flu on top of other issues such as the labour shortage, increased transport costs and, in particular, very high costs for feed, as a result of the continuing tragic events in Ukraine. Some suppliers are preparing and freezing uninfected turkeys now to avoid having to cull flocks closer to Christmas if avian flu continues to spread.
“Operators have already seen sharp increases in all poultry prices this year and should expect to have to pay a premium price in the run up to Christmas. Turkey, which sees an annual spike in demand, is expected to be particularly impacted, but alternatives such as duck or goose face the same problems."
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She added: “Our advice is to assess the demand for Christmas menus as early as possible, and to place orders in good time. While there’s no escaping price increases, keep talking to suppliers and keep menu descriptions flexible wherever possible.”
This adds to the host of cost pressures squeezing pubs’ winter budgets. The latest official figures from the Office of National Statistics put the headline rate of inflation at 10.1%. However, Lynx Purchasing’s analysis for the Market Forecast showed operators facing even higher rates of increase in many food categories, such as dairy and fresh produce.
What’s more, the price of meals eaten out of home has increased by 10.4% year-on-year as operators pass on cost increases to consumers, the official figures have revealed.
