Status: 04.07.2022 2:03 p.m
After the sharp increase in the price of meat and sausages, there are now first signs of a slight relaxation. In the middle of the barbecue season, the trade reduces the prices for some meat products.
After the meat prices have risen above average for months, a possible turnaround is now emerging: the discounter Aldi reduced the price of numerous fresh meat products at the beginning of the week. A company spokesman said on behalf of Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd that falling purchase prices are passed on to customers. The price for 500 grams of mixed minced meat fell from 4.59 euros to 3.99 euros. Bratwurst from pork in the 400 gram pack was reduced from 3.49 to 2.99 euros. The price for a kilo of beef steaks fell from 27.99 euros to 24.99 euros.
Aldi’s step is also likely to have an impact on large parts of the rest of the trade. Germany’s largest food retailer Edeka has already announced: “We also value good value for money and will adjust the prices for some meat products to the new market situation in the coming days.”
Is this a trend reversal?
It is still unclear whether the announcement is already accompanied by a trend reversal. The prices for meat and sausage products rose significantly more than consumer prices in the first five months of the year. In May, the price of meat and meat products was 16.5 percent compared to the previous year, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office in mid-June. That was double the inflation rate of 7.9 percent and also more than food prices, which rose 11.1 percent.
Less turnover in the branch
The high inflation and the particularly strong price increases for meat seem to spoil people’s desire for sausages and steaks. As early as 2021, the price-adjusted sales of the retail trade in meat and meat products fell to the lowest value since the start of the time series in 1994, as the Federal Statistical Office announced in the morning. Compared to the peak in 1996, this is a minus of 67.1 percent.
The larger companies in the industry with at least 20 employees made sales of 40.6 billion euros last year. That was almost nine percent less than in 2020, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office.