Christmas proves a bit of a turkey for producers

The Anglian Turkey Association has reported a marked drop in demand for turkeys over the Christmas period, with many birds left unsold.

Len Goodman, association chairman, runs a Christmas turkey exchange that matches producers with buyers. He blames the poor figures on a variety of reasons, including the poor weather preventing people from venturing out to buy birds and the recession.

“It was noticeable that farmgate sales and the buther trade was down. The supermarkets also had a very good advertising campaign, which could have damaged our trade.” he said.

According to Mr Goodman, last-minute orders did pick up some of the slack, with many birds being sold on Christmas Eve.

The total number of birds on the turkey exchange books for 2010 was similar to last year, with 17,500 birds from 67 producers. Over the 31 years the exchange has operated, it has helped sell 466,148 turkeys.