Kelowna butchers say shoppers are ordering their fresh turkeys early this year

Photo: Contributed

Kelowna residents are gobbling up available fresh turkeys for Christmas.

Several butcher shops in the city take pre-orders for fresh birds, and Don Favell at L&D Meats and Deli says his customers are coming in earlier than usual to place their orders.

He gets about 300 fresh turkeys for the holiday season from JD Farms in Langley, and the most popular size is between 12 and 15 pounds. The bigger birds go for close to $90, but they are still in high demand.

Favell says while there might be a shortage of frozen turkeys, the supply of fresh products in B.C. is still good, despite the flooding in the Fraser Valley.

He also takes pre-orders for hams and beef roasts but warns beef prices are also high, so a nice prime rib could set you back quite a bit.

Over at Mission Meats, employee Sophie says it’s been crazy busy with orders already.

They stock about 380 turkeys for Christmas, also coming from Langley, and sell out every year.

She says they've already received about 140 customers requests and that’s the earliest she recalls in the three and a half years she’s worked at the shop.

Turkey supplies across the country are at 30-year lows. The supply-managed poultry industry cut production last year because of demand uncertainties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, B.C. might be one of the provinces with fewer challenges in meeting demand.

The general manager of the BC Turkey Marketing board tells CTV News washed out highways means not as many birds will be shipped east, keeping them here in B.C. Michel Benoit also notes that only two turkey farms in the Lower Mainland were affected by the floods.

You will likely have to pay more, though. The cost of raising poultry has shot up due to the impact of last summer's extreme drought on the price of feed grain.

-with files from CTV Vancouver Island