Budget supermarket Aldi is selling 1,500 frozen turkey crowns a day as Britons stockpile for Christmas.
Families are said to have hoarded as much as £2,000 worth of food for the festive season amid fears of a supply chain crisis.
Christmas pudding sales were also up 45 per cent.
Industry experts have been warning Britons to buy their Christmas Day dinner in advance and even keep it in the freezer.
Concerns have grown retailers are running out of pigs in blankets and party foods in the run up to December 25.
A shortage of butchers could mean that farmers will be forced to “throw pigs in a skip” because they cannot be slaughtered and carved. Around 150,000 animals under threat of being culled in the next week.
The meat crisis is compounding fears many essential yuletide foods will be scarce or missing due to a lack of HGV drivers, fuel at petrol stations and labour shortages.
Cabinet ministers have failed to reassure the public that supermarkets will be fully stocked.
Boris Johnson insisted it’s “not the job of government to come in and fix every problem” when quizzed about supply chain problems.
Customers are now taking matters into their own hands by stocking up on anything with a long shelf life.
Staff from Aldi told consumer journalist Harry Wallop at a Christmas showcase that they are selling 1,500 frozen turkey crowns a day and pudding sales are up 45 per cent on last year.
The store also revealed that 250,000 Chocolate Orange bombes have been ordered from its supplier in anticipation that the dessert is likely to be its biggest hit this Christmas.
Marks and Spencer said sales of their frozen Christmas food have rocketed by 500 per cent in total on last year as families stockpile, with more than 25,000 turkeys sold by the start of October and sales of their party food growing by 40 per cent per week.
To @AldiUK’s Christmas showcase.
— Harry Wallop (@hwallop) October 5, 2021
I’m told frozen turkey crowns are already selling 1,500 a day. “Customers are stocking up anything with a shelf life. Just in case”. Xmas pudding sales are +45% on last year pic.twitter.com/zHkDdICSxC
Iceland revealed turkey sales up by 409 per cent compared to this time last year.
Desperate to ensure Christmas is normal this year after the chaos of Covid last year, single mother Pat Smith, 26, from Grantham, has splurged £2,000 on food already.
She cleared shelves at six supermarkets, grabbing 24 multipacks of crisps to her trolley already laden with chocolates, alcohol and meat.
She told The Sun: “I don’t want to miss out. I’ve planned and I’m ready.
“I am buying what I need for the next four months including Christmas Day. Last year’s lockdown hit me hard. I ran short of items and couldn’t get to the shops regularly.
“When I did, the shelves were empty.
“As Christmas approached, I was devastated my family wouldn’t have everything they needed.
“I couldn’t get a turkey or the special ingredients I use to make the stuffing. “My family’s favourite drinks were either too expensive due to price hikes or not available.
“I ended up serving cold chicken and ham with salad.”
