Beef will increasingly command a premium on menus as a global shortage drives up price, warns buying specialist Lynx Purchasing.
Along with the prime cuts needed for steaks and Sunday roasts, the impact of higher beef prices is also affecting the offcuts and trim used in menu mainstays such as pies and burgers.
With fewer cattle coming to market bot in the UK and globally, Lynx expects beef to buck the general downward inflation trend this year and into 2016. The issue is spotlighted in the newly-published Spring 2015 edition of the Lynx Purchasing Market Forecast.
Lynx managing director John Pinder said, “As often happens, caterers are getting the blunt end of the price pressure that major supermarkets put on suppliers, which is an international issue and not simply confined to the UK market.
“The normal effect of rising demand is for supply to increase to meet it, but in the face of retailers’ continued insistence that suppliers maintain low prices, there’s little incentive for farmers to increase beef production.”
Pinder continued, “While customers eating out expect beef to occupy a premium slot at the top of the menu pyramid, there can’t be too big a jump between the mid-price and premium dishes on offer. We’re recommending to our customers that they look at alternatives to beef to deliver the all-important ‘wow factor’ at prices that don’t deter their customers.”
With lamb prices also at a seasonal high, recommendations for main courses on spring menus featured in Market Forecast include:
· Pork – although in higher demand due to the popularity of BBQ dishes, the Russian ban on EU pig imports has increased supply
· Fish and seafood: flat fish including brill and Dover sole, along with lobster and crab from British waters, will be good value over the coming months.
Pinder added, “Generally the weather had been kind both in the UK and further afield, and fresh, seasonal produce is in good supply. There are always exceptions, of course, and recent media reports on the low prices being paid to dairy farmers hides the fact that demand for free-range dairy has soared, pushing up prices at the top end of the market.”
The Lynx Purchasing Market Forecast combines official inflation data with exclusive insight from across the range of suppliers Lynx works with. A FREE copy of the Spring 2015 edition can be downloaded at Lynx Purchasing Market Forecast Spring 2015
Lynx Purchasing works with more than 2200 businesses including hotels, pubs, restaurants, healthcare and education providers. Lynx offers access to the best prices in the market, with no fees or contracts. Lynx customers also benefit from detailed market insight, enabling them to plan menus more effectively.
For more information on Lynx Purchasing, visit www.lynxpurchasing.co.uk email savings@lynxpurchasing.co.ukor call 01325 710143.
