Aldi undercuts Sainsbury’s to sell cheapest fresh turkeys ahead of Christmas

Aldi has undercut Sainsbury’s by selling fresh turkeys for Christmas at the cheapest price out of all the major UK supermarkets.

The budget retailer is selling turkeys for just £4.19 per kg, which means an average-size turkey weighing 4.495kg will cost customers £18.83.

It comes after Sainsbury’s said last week it was selling an "inflation-busting" Christmas roast dinner at less than £4 a head, as it invests a further £50 million in its value plan.

The supermarket said it has been able to hold the price of a traditional fresh Christmas dinner against last year, so customers can be reassured they will not be paying more despite soaring inflation.

Aldi managing director of buying Julie Ashfield said: “At Aldi, we believe that access to tasty, high-quality food is a right – and Christmas dinner is no exception.

“Christmas is an expensive time for most families up and down the UK, but we’re dedicated to providing our customers with delicious, premium quality products at the lowest prices possible.”

Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts added: “We really understand that millions of households are having to make really tough decisions this Christmas and our job is to do everything we can to help with the rising costs of living".

Bird flu sparks price rises and turkey shortages

Turkey prices have been pushed up this year after a record breaking season of bird flu, with consumers warned of a "big, big shortage" of free-range birds.

The epidemic has already killed half of the birds produced specifically for Christmas in the UK, British Poultry Council chief executive Richard Griffiths told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.

Mr Griffiths said the total UK turkey production for the festive season was around 8.5 to 9 million birds, but around a million had been culled or died from the disease.

Poultry farmer Paul Kelly, of Kelly Turkeys, said the outbreak is the worst ever faced in the UK and had been “devastating” for farmers.

He told the committee: “The challenge for a lot of the smaller seasonal producers that produce Christmas poultry is they have their Christmas flock on their farm and when the turkeys are infected they all die within four days.

“To give you an example, we had one farmer with 9,500 (birds). The first infection was on Thursday evening, 20 mortality, and by Monday lunchtime they were all dead.”

Asked if the outbreak would have an impact on prices, he said: “I don’t think UK turkey prices will be going up. I think it will just be a supply issue rather than the prices being hiked. But there will be a big, big shortage of British free-range turkeys on the shelves this year.”

Farmers do not set the price of turkeys on supermarket shelves, but the bird flu outbreak - coupled with rising energy prices and costs of animal feed - could have an impact on costs.

Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium told NationalWorld: “Rising inflation is a significant concern for both retailers and their customers. The price of turkeys has been affected by avian flu reducing supply, rising energy prices, and high costs of animal feed.

"Despite these challenges, retailers understand the importance of Christmas and will do everything they can to keep festive meals affordable for everyone. This includes expanding value ranges, keeping the price of essentials down, and introducing discounts for vulnerable groups."