Seafood suppliers and retailers in the United Kingdom are continuing to face supply chain challenges, and new research shows grocery prices are rising. However, consumer interest in seafood has not waned, with seafood sales soaring over the summer, according to market research firm Kantar.
Grocery prices increased 1.7 percent in the four weeks through 3 October, Kantar reported, according to Reuters.
"In real-world terms, the average household had to spend an extra GBP 5.94 [USD 8.20, EUR 7.00] on groceries last month than they did at the same time last year," Kantar Head of Retail and Consumer Insights Fraser McKevitt said.
Overall UK. grocery sales fell 1.2 percent year-on-year in the quarter ending 3 October, but were 8 percent higher than the same quarter in 2019. Despite price increases and declining consumer confidence, chilled fish sales soared 12 percent for the quarter ending 3 October compared to 2019, and grew 4.6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2020.
“There has been particularly strong growth in battered fish and added-value products,” Kantar said in its report. Battered fish sales rose 10.8 percent for the quarter year-over-year and spiked 42 percent for the same quarter versus 2019.
Added-value seafood product sales soared 21 percent versus 2020 and 24.4 percent compared to 2019. Smoked seafood sales increased 2.4 percent versus 2020 and 17 percent compared to the same quarter in 2019.
The increases in seafood prices have been driven by record-high shipping costs, Kantar said, with the cost of sending a 40-foot container from Shanghai, China, to Rotterdam, The Netherlands costing 500 percent more than it did five years ago.
In addition to a shortage of physical containers, ports are overcrowded, and ships and dock workers are in short supply, Kantar said.
“Furthermore, heavy-goods vehicle driver shortages are causing U.K.-wide fuel shortages, putting Christmas trading plans and availability in jeopardy,” Kantar said.
In the U.K., consumer confidence fell 2.3 points to a five-month low in September, caused by an increase in inflation and goods shortages, according to a YouGov and CEBR poll.
“The past few months of rising prices, bill increases, and a fuel crisis brought on by labor shortages have decimated Britons’ confidence in their personal finances for the coming year,” YouGov Director of Reputation Research Darren Yaxley said in a news release.
Photo courtesy of Yau Ming Low/Shutterstock
