Prices for beef and dairy products in shops has reached its peak.
That’s according to Damian O’Reilly, lecturer in retail management at the Technological University Dublin (TUD) who also said that the tight margins for retailers mean they are not the ones making money from the higher shop prices.
The latest Kantar data showed that grocery price inflation jumped up to 4.91% in the 12 weeks to the end of April.
Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne, O’Reilly said that the increase shop prices is a supply and demand issue.
“From talking with some of the major retailers and looking at how they are buying forward; they’ll be doing deals for the beef and milk for the next six months.
“[The retailers] would be suggesting that this has levelled out and you’re not going to see the same price increases over the year that we’ve seen in the last couple of years.”
National herd
O’Reilly said the decrease in the national dairy and beef herd is a factor in the increase in prices in shops.
Central Statistics Office figures revealed that the national cattle herd was 7,183,100 in June 2024, down 2.2% on the previous year.
“There is an issue with beef, there is an issue with the cattle herd and we have an issue with some bad weather which meant that the production from the cows is down about 5% in the last year,” added O’Reilly.
“Some of the major retailers are saying the switch to white meat is about 30%, people are buying poultry and so on for the protein rather than the beef.
“It’s not the retailers that are making the money out of this. Their margins are very thin.”
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Prices for beef and dairy products in shops has reached its peak.
That’s according to Damian O’Reilly, lecturer in retail management at the Technological University Dublin (TUD) who also said that the tight margins for retailers mean they are not the ones making money from the higher shop prices.
The latest Kantar data showed that grocery price inflation jumped up to 4.91% in the 12 weeks to the end of April.
Speaking on Today with Claire Byrne, O’Reilly said that the increase shop prices is a supply and demand issue.
“From talking with some of the major retailers and looking at how they are buying forward; they’ll be doing deals for the beef and milk for the next six months.
“[The retailers] would be suggesting that this has levelled out and you’re not going to see the same price increases over the year that we’ve seen in the last couple of years.”
National herd
O’Reilly said the decrease in the national dairy and beef herd is a factor in the increase in prices in shops.
Central Statistics Office figures revealed that the national cattle herd was 7,183,100 in June 2024, down 2.2% on the previous year.
“There is an issue with beef, there is an issue with the cattle herd and we have an issue with some bad weather which meant that the production from the cows is down about 5% in the last year,” added O’Reilly.
“Some of the major retailers are saying the switch to white meat is about 30%, people are buying poultry and so on for the protein rather than the beef.
“It’s not the retailers that are making the money out of this. Their margins are very thin.”
Read more
Cattle and sheep numbers fall, CSO data shows
Cheddar down more than 9% at Global Dairy Trade
Beef prices: tight supply leaves beef quotes steady
Irish grocery price inflation rises to 5%
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