‘Butchers can help consumers to ride out recession’ (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

‘Butchers can help consumers to ride out recession’

9:00am Friday 19th June 2009 in

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Shoppers seeking cheaper cuts of meat during the recession should turn to independent local butchers, a food industry chief has urged.

Keighley town centre butcher Mike Ward says many cheaper cuts have disappeared from supermarket shelves and customers would get better choice and advice from local butchers.

Mr Ward, who runs Stables Butchers in North Street, is the new president of the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders.

Speaking at the NFMFT’s annual meeting in Bradford, Mr Ward highlighted fears among Britain’s butchers that supermarkets are removing variety and value for money in their drive for convenience and cheap food.

In a sharp attack on standardised products and high-volume sales, he said: “In these tough economic times, consumers will naturally seek out the less-expensive cuts, but they have disappeared as the multiples seek convenience, volume sales and high margins.

“Maximising the value of the carcase is paramount for the independent butcher, so there is always a bit of juggling to be done to produce a range of different cuts.

“We need to tell people that there is more to meat and meat products found in the premier quality independent butchers’ shops than the supermarkets have on their shelves.”

Mr Ward, who has been a butcher for 43 years, also expressed concern about the decline in pigs, cattle and sheep livestock in the UK and warned this could lead to price increases.

Bradford-born Mr Ward said: “People are wrong to believe that independent butchers are too expensive. Shoppers are increasingly looking for cheaper alternatives such as sausages and burgers rather than joints of meat.”

The new president plans to streamline the 121-year-old Federation, which was founded in Dewsbury in 1888, by reducing the number of councillors from 18 to 12 and replacing the annual meeting with more frequent regional meetings.