Here's some festive cheer - pork sales continue to rise

And now for some good news. Pork sales increased in volume and value in the 12 weeks to December 3, new figures from Kantar WorldPanel show.

Despite prices for pork products rising by 7.4% during the period, fresh pork sales were up 2.7% year-on-year in volume and by 9.7% in value terms. Bacon volumes grew by 1.8%, with value rising by 3.5%, and 1.4% more sausage was sold at an increased value of 3.4%.

Products performing particularly well include mince, with volume up 29%, followed by leg joints (+22%) and diced or cubed pork (+20%).

Kantar attributed the growth partly to the AHDB Midweek Meal campaign, which it said 'continues to raise awareness and put pork front of mind for consumers'.

Overall Meat, Fish and Poultry (MFP) volume sales declined slightly compared to last year, although values rose through inflation.

Pork, chicken and other red meat were the only primary categories seeing volume growth this period, with pork remaining as the 'star performer' in both value and volume terms.

For more on this story, see Pig World