Eggs in decline for the first time since lockdown

Poultry Business has teamed up with market research firm Kantar to provide readers with detailed insight and analysis into the retail market for eggs and poultry. We take a look at what has been driving sales in supermarkets in the past 12 weeks.
By Tom Hooker, Kantar analyst
Over the last 12 weeks egg sales have moved into a year-on-year (YoY) decline of -4.2%.  This is a large drop off from the last 12-week period which had growth of nearly 10%.  The only egg category to be in growth was organic eggs, which increased in value by 28.1% YoY. Free range and barn eggs were both in decline, with free range declining by -2.3% and barn eggs down -20.4%.
On average eggs saw a small price increase of 1.9%. Organic eggs were up the most, with prices rising by 7.0%, making the most expensive egg on the market double the price of the next most expensive egg.  Free range and barn egg prices were both down, by 1.0% and 1.7% respectively.
With eggs entered a YoY declined for the first time in a year, annualisation on last year’s stellar performance will be the biggest factor affecting the category.
As coronavirus restrictions continue to be relaxed, this could also lead to fewer eggs being eaten home, further worsening the performance of the category.
Poultrymeat
Primary poultrymeat has seen a large drop in performance, with sales down -7.4% YoY.  Total Primary chicken followed this trend, with spend declining -7.7% and primary turkey slightly worse at -9.6% YoY. Other poultry, such as duck and poussin, were the only products in growth, with spend up 4.7%.
Average price of total poultry increased (0.7%) reaching £3.83 per kilo.  Primary Chicken also had a small increase of 0.5% YoY.  Primary Turkey was the only category to see average price to decline YoY, falling by 2.1%.  The most expensive category, other poultry, saw its average price increase further by 7.7% YoY. 
As the warmer weather is set to continue, we will likely see opportunities for barbecues. For certain cuts of poultry such as chicken sausages and turkey burgers, this could lead to a big increase in spend, especially compared to last summer when there were tighter restrictions on outdoor gatherings.
The return of sporting events, and the gatherings such as the Euros also provide opportunities for parties, or eating out in pubs, that could benefit the poultry industry.