British meat producer Cranswick said on Thursday that trading was robust in December, as people thronged supermarkets for gourmet and ready-to-eat meat during the festive season.
The company, which supplies pork and poultry to most UK major supermarkets including Tesco, said its third quarter saw all product categories ahead of year-ago levels in its core domestic market.
Inflationary Pressure
Britons, who are facing rising prices and an income squeeze, loosened their purse strings towards the end of 2022, celebrating the first pandemic-restrictions free holiday season in two years.
"The broad-based inflationary pressure we are experiencing across our cost base continues to be well controlled and mitigated," Adam Couch, chief executive officer said.
Cranswick, which had earlier seen exports to its far east markets such as China suffer, said on Thursday higher prices have helped sales in the region, somewhat offsetting low volumes.
Carbon Neutral by 2030
The company noted that it recognises that, as farmers themselves, they are 'custodians of the countryside and natural environment' and that they are 'working hard to reduce other impact'.
According to Cranswick, 'Our goal is for all Cranswick owned farms to be Carbon Neutral by 2030. We also carried out a biodiversity baseline study in 2021 and have ambitious plans to build upon this via various initiatives.
'We plan to achieve these goals by using low carbon footprint diets, sequestering carbon through our own farms and independent producers.'
The sausage-maker noted that it also collaborates with other specialist food producers within the various rotations, to improve soil health and organic matter levels.
News by Reuters, additional reporting and edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more supply chain stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
