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By paNOW Staff

gobble gobble

You might pay more for turkey, but there isn’t a shortage

Dec 14, 2021 | 8:00 AM

If you haven’t picked up your turkey for Christmas supper yet, don’t worry. There will be enough to go around. It may just cost a little more.

Much like COVID-19 brought on panic buying of good likes Lysol wipes and toilet paper, rumblings of a turkey shortage due to the pandemic and floods in B.C. started to circulate, prompting buyers to bank their birds early.

“They do not need to panic buy,” said co-administrator for the Turkey Farmers of Saskatchewan, Cynthia Wiersma. “There will be enough turkey for everyone who wants to have a turkey for Christmas. Its just a matter of waiting. This week, definitely early on next week, there should be a good supply.”

Saskatchewan has 11 commercial turkey operations that produce about 6.5 million kilograms per year. On average, that’s between 550,000 and 620,000 turkeys. The pandemic did lead to a drop in turkey production by about seven per cent, which Wiersma said was a huge loss for producers, although they’ve since been able to bounce back. The flooding in British Columbia hasn’t directly affected Saskatchewan producers but there are some ‘minor supply chain challenges’ for things like boxes or bags for turkeys.

“The processors and retailers are working hard to address these implications and they have been since the disaster started, but in Saskatchewan, we don’t see a huge challenge with that,” she said.

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What consumers may see is a rise in prices. They’re up this year over last because of those supply chain issues and because feed prices have gone up. Wiersma pointed out those rising costs are for most foods and not specific to just turkey. While an increase is expected, the prices shouldn’t be outrageous.

“If someone is paying $80 for a turkey, first find out how much it weighs because between $3.75 and $6 per kilogram is a reasonable price. If you’re paying $80 for a 10-kilogram turkey, that’s actually quite high. So, ask what kind of turkey you’re getting.”

Stuffed and graded turkeys cost more. Wiersma said the other reason prices are rising could be due to a shortage of transport drivers which makes it harder to get products out to remote areas.

“Again there is no need to panic,” she said. “Prices are pretty much the same as Thanksgiving. A lot of grocery stores are featuring their turkeys for as low as $1.97 per pound…or $3.75 per kilogram.”

Wiersma added Saskatchewan produces very high-quality turkey thanks to strict bio security protocols and animal welfare programs that are strictly enforced.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertNOW