From the retail end, bacon is a good business to be in, but Dutch suppliers are certainly feeling the pinch, said Robert Smith, managing director of the Dutch Meat Board.
“The good news, according to the latest TNS data, is that frequency of purchase is up, which is encouraging,” he said.
The total bacon market is up 3% in value and 1% in volume.
Brands are back on the agenda with a 6% increase, compared to last year’s fall of 8%, and this is being driven by the tertiary variety combined with price promotion.
Loose continues to decline with more and more retailers pulling out, however Morrisons continues to buck the trend. “Morrisons offers a good quality
product on the deli which is presented well,” said Smith.
However while the market on the surface looks good, the Dutch are finding their margins increasingly under pressure.
“We had a good year volume-wise last year and in the first half of this year volumes are again up by 7%.
“However, it has been an expensive business as pig prices on the continent are rising and retail prices are not following.”
However, the Dutch were picking up increasing business on the retail front, he said.
“We’re historically strong on foodservice, but we’ve been making more and more gains in retail. Whilst there are a number of reasons for that, it’s partly due to a lot of hard work on behalf of the Dutch.”
The increases now mean that the UK has overtaken Germany as Holland’s biggest market for pigmeat exports.
This has been helped by an increased demand for fresh pork, predominantly from the processing sector, said Smith.
“The growth in bacon, and also our growing position in fresh meat, means the UK has increased from 12% of Dutch pigmeat exports to 29% over the last 10 years.”
Ed Bedington
“The good news, according to the latest TNS data, is that frequency of purchase is up, which is encouraging,” he said.
The total bacon market is up 3% in value and 1% in volume.
Brands are back on the agenda with a 6% increase, compared to last year’s fall of 8%, and this is being driven by the tertiary variety combined with price promotion.
Loose continues to decline with more and more retailers pulling out, however Morrisons continues to buck the trend. “Morrisons offers a good quality
product on the deli which is presented well,” said Smith.
However while the market on the surface looks good, the Dutch are finding their margins increasingly under pressure.
“We had a good year volume-wise last year and in the first half of this year volumes are again up by 7%.
“However, it has been an expensive business as pig prices on the continent are rising and retail prices are not following.”
However, the Dutch were picking up increasing business on the retail front, he said.
“We’re historically strong on foodservice, but we’ve been making more and more gains in retail. Whilst there are a number of reasons for that, it’s partly due to a lot of hard work on behalf of the Dutch.”
The increases now mean that the UK has overtaken Germany as Holland’s biggest market for pigmeat exports.
This has been helped by an increased demand for fresh pork, predominantly from the processing sector, said Smith.
“The growth in bacon, and also our growing position in fresh meat, means the UK has increased from 12% of Dutch pigmeat exports to 29% over the last 10 years.”
Ed Bedington
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