WITH inflation back in the news this month after an unexpected rise in October, poultrymeat and eggs have continued to move in the opposite direction.

During October, the headline annual inflation rate for all consumer expenditure excluding housing (the CPI) jumped to 2.3%, from 1.7% in September.

See also: Broiler and turkey placings up in October

At the same time, food price inflation remained subdued. At 1.9% year-on-year, the rise in food prices lagged well behind the overall CPI for October, and fractionally below the Bank of England’s 2% target rate.

Although egg prices in October have matched the annual rate of food inflation at 1.9%, compared with the previous month the average retail egg price actually declined slightly (measured on a slightly different scale, the retail price index).

Also, egg prices have remained largely static since the summer. Since June, the RPI for eggs has moved from 299.0 to 301.4, a net rise of 0.8%.

Poultrymeat

For poultrymeat, its price competitiveness with other meats has sharpened a little, being the only major meat category to show a fall.

The average retail price of poultry was 0.6% lower in October than a year earlier, and was 1.5% lower than in September.

By comparison, pork prices were 0.4% higher than a month earlier; beef 0.7% higher; and lamb 1.4% higher.

Food and drink categories that were running much higher than average inflation included all catering (up 4.7% year-on-year); butter (6%); tea (5%); whole potatoes (15%); and fresh vegetables (4.8%).