Chicken and ham on the rise for Christmas lunches this year as turkey sales decline

Turkey is in decline, chicken is on the rise and ham remains a popular choice for Christmas lunches in Australia.

Recent data from Coles shows turkey remains a "stable choice" for those wanting a more traditional lunch, but sales have reduced at independent chain Ritchies IGA.

Chicken sales have dramatically increased and are beginning to cut into the Christmas market.

Chicken sales are expected to as much as double this month compared to last December at Coles and Ritchies IGA has also observed a 50 per cent uptick.

"This has been a gradual [decline] over the past, say 20 years … but cost of living does have a little bit to do with people jumping for chicken.

"Chicken is one of the cheapest proteins by a fair way, so I do think people are economising and it's a great substitute."

Mr Harrison said seafood had also been steadily increasing every year.

Cheap chooks

Australian Chicken Meat Federation chief executive Mary Wu said the trend was reflected year-round as chicken consumption continued to climb.

"It's a very affordable protein — on average when we've surveyed the consumer, people are eating chicken between two and three times a week."

Up to 700 million chickens are slaughtered each year in Australia for domestic meat consumption, with very little of the meat exported.

Hamming it up

Approximately 3 million kilograms of Christmas ham is expected to fly off the shelves at Coles over the holiday season, with all of the major retailers offering half-leg hams for $8 per kilo.

Australian Pork Limited (APL) chief executive Margo Andrae said approximately 1.6 million legs of ham are sold in the lead-up to Christmas.

"Ham is traditionally quite a strong centrepiece and we've seen an increase in fresh pork sales over the last four weeks of about 3.6 per cent," she said.

"It doesn't matter what budget you have for Christmas or how many people are sitting around your Christmas table — pork has an option for you.

"It's a combination of the affordability and versatility of pork."

Mr Harrison said ham sales at IGA had gone up about 20 to 25 per cent this year.

Rotisserie on the rise

In addition to people opting to cook more chicken and pork at home, Mr Harrison said pre-cooked roasts were on the rise.

"Christmas eve will be a big cooking day for us, and the other thing that Ritchies sell so much of is crackling pork and it increases in sales each and every year.

"A lot of our stores will be open from 4am Christmas Eve preparing the roasts."

Christmas cherries

Fruit and vegetables were often the final items collected ahead of the Christmas feast, Mr Harrison said.

"It depends on when Christmas falls … this year being on Wednesday there will be fresh produce into the market Monday and Tuesday," he said.

"The produce will be brimming with freshness this year.

Due to seasonal conditions cherries will be in good supply over the festive period, he added.

"Cherries will be at their best, good sized.

"It's almost like the roses and Melbourne Cup day, we've got the cherries at Christmas."

Root veggies are the 'dark horses'

But Mr Harrison said the "dark horses" in the vegetable family, the root veggies, had been flying off the shelves as people prepared roasts.

"Who eats turnips and parsnips normally? Probably not a lot of people," he said.

"And all the regular, traditional vegetables … buying big on carrots, peas, beans, broccoli and pumpkin."

At Coles, there was also a "rise in demand for spring onions, parsnips, Dutch carrots and beetroot due to the cooking creativity associated with Christmas."

And fruit choices also sit consistent with seasonal picks at Woolworths. 

"Both cherries and mangoes are far and above the most popular picks," a Woolworths spokesperson said.

"In recent years, 30 per cent of the summer cherry crop has been sold in the week of Christmas."