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View Key Financial Ratios for UK Producers, Processors and Preservers of Meat and Meat Products (GBP000, % and GBP), 2004-2005

Posted on: Friday, 29 September 2006, 12:00 CDT

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c42915) has announced the addition of "Meat & Meat Products Market Report 2006" to their offering.

This report examines the UK retail market for primary meat and processed meat products. This definition includes fresh, frozen and canned meats, together with processed foods that contain significant amounts of meat, such as ready meals.

The report examines trends in the market between 2001 and 2005, and offers forecasts for the period from 2006 to 2010.

Market Sectors:

For the purposes of this report, we divided the market into the following sectors:

- carcass meat -- beef, veal, pork, mutton, lamb and offal

- poultry -- dominated by chicken and turkey, but also including other products, such as duck

- bacon and ham

- other meat and meat products -- based around processed and added-value products such as sausages, meat pies and pasties, cooked meats, frozen meats, canned meats, meat-based ready meals, pastes and spreads.

Meat is an integral part of the UK diet, consistently accounting for nearly a quarter of total household expenditure on food, according to National Statistics. In 2005, consumers spent £13.66bn on meat and meat products -- more than on any other category of food except for fruit and vegetables.

Total sales of meat and meat products increased between 2001 and 2005, driven by various factors, including recovering consumer confidence in meat. Added-value products (including ready meals, as well as flavoured meats and other convenience foods) showed the strongest growth, with sales increasing both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the total market. These products have been promoted heavily by the supermarkets, since they tend to offer high margins, and they have proved popular among consumers.

The meat-processing industry is becoming increasingly concentrated. Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has intensified over the past decade as a result of the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crisis of the mid-1990s and the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001, both of which forced some processors out of business and raised costs as a result of the introduction of new regulations covering the processing of meat. Low-cost imports from overseas suppliers and the intensely competitive nature of grocery retailing in the UK are also spurring the consolidation process.

The major supermarkets dominate the sale of fresh and frozen meat, accounting for around 82% of sales in 2005. These retailers are increasingly focusing on supplying premium products -- a development that reflects growing concern among consumers about the source of their food and issues such as animal welfare. The supermarkets are particularly dominant in the sale of prepacked or prepared meat. Butchers tend to offer only a small range of these products (if they offer any at all), partly because of a lack of space.

Companies Mentioned Include:

- Anglo Beef Processors Ltd

- Bernard Matthews Ltd

- Boparan Holdings Ltd

- Cranswick Plc

- Grampian Country Food Group Ltd

- Kerry Group PLC

- Moy Park Ltd

- Northern Foods PLC

- Sun Valley Foods Ltd

- TUlip Ltd

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c42915

Source: Business Wire

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