TURKEY prices have been slashed at a major supermarket despite food costs being on the rise.
It comes as bird flu killed half of free-range turkeys, pushing up prices and pressuring farmers.
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Aldi will be selling a fresh 2-4kg turkey for £8.38 in stores and online from December 19, equal to £4.19 per kilogram.
The Ashfields Turkey with Giblets will be available from next week alongside the frozen Oakhurst British Basted Whole Turkey, which is already on sale in stores and online.
The same-size Oakhurst turkey currently costs £13.99 on the website, in comparison.
The non-frozen £8.38 turkey serves six to 11 people, and also comes in a medium and large size – although prices will increase for those.
You can’t order home from Aldi but you can buy online and use click and collect.
The news comes as a massive 600,000 of 1.3million free range turkeys have been lost to bird flu, according to the British Poultry Council.
It’s meant shoppers have been warned that they may not be able to buy the type of bird they usually purchase for Christmas.
Supermarkets say they won’t run out entirely but at least two major supermarkets – Lidl and Morrisons – are believed to only be selling frozen turkeys this Christmas period.
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Retailers have also been given permission by the department for environment, food and rural affairs to kill birds earlier than usual and then thaw them out in the run up to Christmas.
It means these birds will be sold as “defrosted”, rather than fresh, according to the British Retail Consortium.
You can look out for the label in shops – and it will affect turkey, duck and goose products on sale from now until December 21, but it does not apply to chicken.
To compare fresh turkey prices elsewhere, Tesco sells a six-person-serving turkey for £35.
And that’s without delivery costs added in.
Morrisons sells a four to seven-person-serving turkey crown for £36.75.
Lidl has a fresh turkey coming to stores and online on December 19 as well – but the price will start from £17.30 for a turkey serving six to nine people.
But to buy a turkey crown serving four to six people from Sainsbury’s, it’ll set you back by at least £37.60.
But these are fresh turkeys – if you buy it frozen, there a few things to keep in mind.
Depending on the weight, turkeys could take around 24 hours to thaw, and then you have to cook it – so make sure you get it out in time for Christmas Day.
It it important to defrost a turkey in the fridge, not at room temperature.
It’s up to you whether you buy your turkey ahead of time and refreeze it, or you buy it at the last minute.
Some smaller birds can be cooked from frozen, don’t forget to check the label.
The news follows the announcement that there will be no geese for shoppers this Christmas after the entire flock had been lost.
Gressingham, which supplies all of the UK’s biggest supermarkets with frozen and fresh geese, duck, and turkeys, said that its entire geese flock had been lost.
