Benevolent butchers are proving they are full of festive spirit by taking a smaller cut of profits from their Christmas turkeys.

Traders in Brighton and Hove are giving a leg up to shoppers this year by absorbing the rising costs of suppliers and not passing them on to customers.

The cost of turkeys from suppliers is increasing as breeders battle to overcome the 30% rise in animal feed prices this year.

Butchers, who started receiving enquiries for Christmas turkeys in June, said they didn’t want to push up prices for struggling families.

Brian Archer, from Archer’s Butchers in Islingword Road said he had taken nearly all his orders for Christmas turkeys with most regulars putting in their orders in the last two to three weeks.

Prices the same

He added: “We have kept our prices the same as last year and absorbed the increase from our suppliers ourselves.

“You can get a Lidl four bird roast for £9.99.

A lot of people don’t understand that we are very different to those supermarkets.”

Paul Williams from Brampton’s in St George’s Road said that prices would remain the same at £11.90 a kilo despite costs from their suppliers increasing by 6%.

He said rising feed prices, which account for more than half of poultry farmer’s costs, were increasing at a weekly rate of £3 a tonne.

He added: “Christmas is the most important meal of the year and if either myself or the farmer get it wrong, we ruin everybody’s day.

“In the current climate, we knowthere is only so much a customer can spend on a turkey.”

A butcher at Canham and Sons in Church Road, Brighton said orders pick up next month when the firm can expect up to 60 orders a day.

The shop, which will sell about 1,000 turkeys this year, has increased its prices at just above inflation.

He said: “Everybody who produces meat is struggling to survive at the moment. They have to put up their prices to make ends meet but are concerned about a backlash from the public.”