EDMONTON – More Canadians are putting pork in their shopping carts than ever before, says a national food tracking agency.
Tony Marino, vice-president of government and sector services with AC Nielsen, said pork contributed $913 million in grocery store sales in the past 52 weeks, up eight percent from a year earlier. This doesn’t include bacon and prepackaged meats that aren’t on the meat counter. Add in bacon, and pork sales are probably as high as $1.5 billion, Marino said.
Pork sales are growing faster than fluid milk, frozen dinners or pasta sauces, he told the Alberta Pork annual meeting.
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AC Nielsen tracks what consumers buy from about 75 percent of Canada’s grocery stores. It also collects data from 12,000 hand-held scanners that it gives to consumers so they can scan the groceries they bring into their homes.
Using this information, AC Nielsen has found that beef represents 42 percent of the value of meat purchases, and pork is second at 18.8 percent.
In Alberta, pork’s share of the meat market on a dollar basis is on the rise, growing to 19.7 percent from 19.2 percent. That six-tenths of a percentage point represents $600,000.
“Pork is growing faster in Alberta than any other meat,” Marino said.
Alberta partial to pork
AC Nielsen is also able to track detailed spending habits of consumers and prices for products.
In Alberta, the price of pork in the grocery store is higher than the national average – $8.26 a kilogram compared to $7.75 nationally.
Marino said Albertans who buy pork tend to buy more expensive cuts, which is where he advised pork producers to focus their consumer advertising.
“Some of the most expensive products have some of the fastest growth.”
Canadians buy pork an average of eight times a year, or every 31 days. Albertans buy pork every 34 days but when they buy it, they spend more money.
Albertans spend $85 a year on pork compared to the national average of $70 a year.
Unlike turkey or lamb, pork is not a seasonal or special occasion meat. It has become a staple in the Canadian diet, with eight out of 10 homes buying some pork during the year. Marino said they buy it for its taste and versatility. Price was not a factor in their purchases, he added.
