NFU wants better deal from retailers


22 November 2001



NFU wants better deal from retailers

By FWi staff


FARMERS should receive a larger share of the retail food price, National Farmers Union President Ben Gill has told a European conference.


Producers face many pressures in increasingly difficult times, Mr Gill told a Farm to Fork conference held in Brussels on Thursday (November 22).

These include European Union enlargement, the World Trade Organisation talks and the review of the Common Agricultural Policy.


Consumer habits have also changed peoples relationship with food, posing more challenges for farmers and the food chain, Mr Gill said.


Farmers are increasingly expected to meet a number of conflicting demands such as providing traceable, safe and value for money food.


They are also expected to maintain the stewardship of the countryside and meet the publics ethical concerns, he said.


However there is an inequality within the food-chain between meeting those expectations and the means by which farmers have to satisfy them.


To prosper in these conditions, farmers need efficient processing, food distribution and retail sectors.


They need a balanced structure and a larger share of the retail price. We believe this can only be achieved by working together.


Mr Gill said farmers were committed to being the first efficient step in the food by being the preferred supplier of British retailers and processors.

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