Christmas 1999 a good one for turkey sales

By Poultry World staff

IT WAS a buoyant Christmas for turkey sales, reports the British Turkey Federation.

Whole bird sales were up 9% on the previous December and joints and roasts were up 28% – indicating the move into smaller convenient formats is attracting new customers and not biting into the whole bird market.

The extra sales of whole birds were shared between frozen and fresh, with the former up 10% and fresh up 7%.

In terms of value, whole birds were 7% higher year-on-year, while roasts were 20% higher.

The millennium gave households a double reason to celebrate in December, and the convenient joints and roasts proved a popular option for millennium meals, suggested Ron Wales at the BTF.