Turkey king cuts back production

19 May 1998

Turkey king cuts back production

BERNARD MATTHEWS – the UKs largest turkey producer – will close some of its turkey farms and shut down its processing factory in Spalding.

It is pulling out of the export commodity market and cutting the number of turkeys it produces in the UK by 20%.

The company blamed a combination of the high value of sterling and weak turkey meat prices.

The export commodity business lost several million pounds last year but the exact amount was not disclosed. The decision to scale down its business is expected to reduce the groups £372 million turnover in 1997 by about 8%.

David Joll, managing director, said Bernard Matthews would continue to be fully self-sufficient, although he admitted that the low level of turkey meat prices raised the question of whether the company should still produce all its own turkeys.

• Financial Times 19/05/98 page 30
• The Times 19/05/98 page 30
• The Guardian 19/05/98 page 20
• The Daily Telegraph 19/05/98 page 29