British beef consumption recovers

Marts: Consumption of beef in Britain has recovered following a sharp decline in both volume and expenditure in midsummer, resulting in consumption for the past year coming on par with the previous 12 months.

During a four-week period in midsummer, the volume of fresh and frozen beef purchased by British shoppers dropped by 14%, with expenditure declining by 9%, relative to the same period in 2004.

Data for the four-week period to the middle of August, which have now become available, show that sales of fresh and frozen beef were 8% higher in volume than for the same term last year while expenditure on beef was up by 9%.