By Lee Boyce
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Beware the burger burglars. A steep rise in the price of meat is resulting in criminal gangs stealing it to order, according to retail experts.
There has been an increase of up to 20 per cent in the theft of meat in some supermarkets, says a report in the Financial Times.
It comes as meat saw an annual inflation rate of 6.1 per cent in March â" the second highest of any supermarket item.
Steak crime: Some supermarkets are reporting a 20% increase in the theft of meat
High unemployment and low wage growth is pricing many families out of putting meat on the dinner table.
The report states that after adjusting for inflation, household disposable income fell 1.2 per cent last year, the steepest fall since the 1970s. And according to official figures, unemployment is currently at 8.3 per cent.
And there appear to be few signs of things picking up. Wage growth in the first quarter of this year rose by 1.4 per cent - a figure that is less than half the rate at which prices are currently rising.
All this means that not only do people have less money to spend and so are more tempted by the illicit sale of essentials such as food, but also that more are tempted into illegal behaviour themselves.
Soaring commodity prices in recent years have led to an increase of other thefts, for example, stealing lead from roof tops and copper wire from overhead train lines, which is then sold on.
Now meat theft is on the menu, encouraged by high demand from households, pubs and restaurants.
Hamburglar: An increase in meat theft has supermarkets looking to improve security
The FT also states that farmers in North Yorkshire are blaming soaring meat prices for an increase in sheep rustling, as some organised criminals cut corners.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director at the Centre for Retail Research, speaking to the FT, said: âRetailers say that meat theft has really gone up, itâs something that is seen as a having a lot of commercial value and can be sold on to restaurants and pubs.
âThere are people travelling about the country, coming in and running off with meat in quite a professional way. There are some gangs that are known to retailers and police.â
Figures commissioned by the FT from the Centre for Retail Research shows that supermarketsâ âshrinkageâ rates for fresh meat increased from 2.64 per cent in 2010 to 2.89 per cent last year â" a rise of 9.5 per cent.
Shrinking is the amount delivered to a shop against the amount sold and some of the loss can be put down to administrativ e errors. The rest is thought to be theft â" and a rise of 9.5 per cent for meat is a large rise compared to overall UK retail theft shrinkage of 6.2 per cent.Â
In some of the harder hit shops the increase is much sharper, at 20 per cent.
Professor Bamfield adds: âThe quantities being stolen, all at the same time and of the same type, suggest that itâs being done to order.â
According to the report, retails parks and shops near good transport links are the most at risk, as criminals can target more than one store in an afternoon.
With the surge in the theft of meat, supermarkets are looking at ways to combat the epidemic.
It is believed that major supermarkets are considering security changes, such as moving tagging operations to the factory production lines, rather than the shop floor.
Grazing cows: A recent drought has led to farmers feeding pricier corn to livestock, resulting in more expensive meat
Price of meat may continue to surge in the future
The rise in the cost of meat could continue to escalate. A recent drought means grass is parched and has resulted in many farmers forced into feeding livestock on corn, which is pricier. This cost is then passed onto consumers.
And rising living standards across the world means that the global market for meat is expanding at a rapid rate. UK exports to Asia is the fastest growing market, according to the FT.
Stats in the report show that Far Eastern demand resulted in UK exports of livestock products rising by 22 per cent year-on-year in 2011, to £2.33billion. Overall, UK exports of meat have doubled since 2006.
While UK meat prices are up 6.1 per cent for the year, some types of meat have seen an even larger uplift in price.
Fillet steak, the top cut of beef, has seen a near 50 per cent increase in price from five years ago. According to the FT, fillet steak was rou ghly £22.17 per kilo in 2007 and is now £31.25 a kilo.
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