Lynx Purchasing published the Summer 2023 edition of its regular Market Forecast, which stated there is a real opportunity for operators to forge partnerships with British food producers and make eating out a ‘genuinely different experience’.

Rachel Dobson, Lynx Purchasing managing director, said: “There are some very difficult choices for operators ahead. It’s either keeping menu prices low, or serving high quality produce that offers consumers a genuinely different choice when compared to eating at home. Consumers may be going out less often, but many are looking for better quality when they do.

“We’re starting to see some price improvements on products that have seen the biggest increases, such as dairy and oils, but higher food costs are here to stay. Once consumers start to feel more confident about spending, the opportunity for hospitality will be to add value to menus, rather than cut margins. In addition, showing support for British food producers has genuine customer appeal.”

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has recently called for closer links with hospitality. NFU president Minette Batters argued that “developing relationships between the out of home sector and British farmers and growers will create even more opportunities to serve up local food that is safe and fully traceable, providing the provenance the public increasingly appreciates.”

Product areas highlighted in the latest edition of the Market Forecast include:

• Fresh produce: The Government has increased the number of migrant agricultural worker visas by a further 10,000 this year, which should improve the availability of fresh fruit and seasonal produce across the summer
• Beef and pork: The continuing high cost of rearing cattle is keeping beef prices up, and pork prices are also at very high levels, with strong global demand
• Poultry: Continued concerns about the spread of avian flu mean restrictions on poultry have been introduced in many countries
• Eggs: Suppliers should expect egg production to take some time to return to normal levels
• Dairy: Prices for milk, butter and cheese have started to come down in foodservice, following an increase in global milk production
• Potatoes: Yields of larger potatoes such as bakers are extremely low, due to a poor harvest after the very hot weather last summer
• Oils: Prices for rapeseed oil are starting to fall as this year’s crop becomes available

A free copy of the Summer 2023 Market Forecast can be downloaded from the website at www.lynxpurchasing.co.uk.