Total seafood sales in the U.K. grocery market continued to fall in the first-quarter of this year, but the rate of decline has slowed.
For the three months ending 28 March 2015, U.K. seafood sales totaled GBP 3.1 million (EUR 4.3 million; USD 4.8 million), a decrease of 0.8 percent year-on-year, according to the latest Nielsen Scantrack data published by Seafish. The total volume, meanwhile, fell 3.7 percent to 334.1 metric tons (MT).
Chilled was the only seafood category to see any value growth during the period. Its sales grew by 2.9 percent to almost GBP 2 million (EUR 2.8 million/USD 3.1 million) thanks in part to a 4.1 percent increase in average prices – to GBP 12.96 (EUR 17.93; USD 20.16) per kg. In volume terms, chilled sales were down 2 percent to 150.4 MT.
The chilled growth also increased on the back of slowing sales volume and units decline, said Nielsen Scantrack.
The frozen category achieved sales of GBP 693,694 (EUR 959,450; USD 1.1 million) in Q1 2015, down 4.3 percent year-on-year. In volume terms, these sales fell 8.5 percent to 296.2 MT.
For the same period, ambient seafood sales fell 6.4 percent in value to GBP 489,973 (EUR 677,717; USD 762,033). The ambient volume fell by 2.4 percent to 73.7 MT.
Nielsen Scantrack said that frozen is also seeing its rate of decline decelerating and that this is possibly due to slowing inflation. However, in the ambient category, the sales volume, units and value remain in steepening decline despite falling prices.
