Bromsgrove butcher halts Christmas turkey orders as sales fly

Rachel Edmonds said labour shortages, increased costs of raising birds and shoppers pre-planning after the pandemic had influenced sales

A butcher says she has halted her Christmas orders after selling more than 6,000 turkey crowns.

Rachel Edmonds, who runs independent The Butcheress, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, said she had begun taking Christmas orders on 31 August.

Miss Edmonds said labour shortages, increased prices of raising birds and pre-planning had caused high demand.

The Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association said there had been a "surge" in early turkey sales.

"I think largely with the pandemic, people have become more organised and they've started planning ahead," Miss Edmonds said.

More people, she said, had also been shopping locally because they "like to know that their meat is British and how it has been raised and if it's free range".

A study by Enterprise Nation found a third of shoppers planned to spend more at independent stores.

There have also been supply chain issues, which Miss Edmonds said was due to labour shortages caused by Brexit.

The Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association said its members had seen orders up by 250% compared to this time last year

"Since we've left the EU, a lot of the workers have [returned] home and they used to work in the slaughter houses," said Miss Edmonds.

In September, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) called for an emergency visa to allow firms to recruit from outside the UK and warned of panic buying due to labour shortages.

The British Poultry Council has estimated there are nearly 7,000 vacancies across the sector.

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A price increase for farmers has also meant some did not rear turkeys this year, which caused Miss Edmonds to pre-order.

"Poults have gone from £2 to £9 and the price of raising them is a lot more," Miss Edmonds said.

The Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association said its members had seen orders up by 250% compared to this time last year.

British Poultry Council Chief Executive Richard Griffiths added: "Ordering in advance is sensible. It helps producers - particularly small producers - plan their Christmas period and the number of birds they have to source, and it gives them stability and certainty.

"There should be enough birds to go round this Christmas but we may see some reduction in variety of products on the shelves."

Miss Edmonds said the price of rearing turkeys had also increased