Britain's wet summer leads to spike in winter food sales

by thetelegraph.co.uk - 12/08/2009

"Supermarkets are reporting a rise in winter food sales because of Britain's wet summer, figures show. "

Sainsbury's said sales of roasting joints were up 20 per cent on July 2008 while roast beef ready meals and shepherd's pie sales had increased 70 per cent and 46 per cent respectively.

Sales of lettuce and prepared salads were down nearly 10 per cent.

Tesco root vegetable buyer Jonathan Corbett said: "This is the time of year when salads and BBQ foods are usually top of the shopping list but we are seeing unexpectedly high demand for foods normally associated with winter.

"The miserable weather has prompted many shoppers to turn to comfort foods to cheer themselves up and chase away the rainy weather blues."

Sainsbury's spokesman Tom Parker said demand for winter food had been particularly high this year.

He said: "We are not shifting many barbeques but it's an opportunity to sell other things. We try to remain flexible to give our customers what they want.

"As one door closes another one opens."

Despite a promising early start in June, July ended up being the wettest month on record in England.

Just over 5.1 inches (129.8mm) of rain fell in England over July - the wettest since records began.

Overall an average of 5.6 inches fell in the UK - the fourth highest amount since 1914 and more than double the average rainfall of 2.7 inches.

Business Mobile Phones

More Details: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/6009335/Britains-wet-summer-leads-to-spike-in-winter-food-sales.html