Farmers Weekly editor on supermarket pledges
When Tesco boss Philip Clarke made his announcement at the NFU Conference last week that he was determined to work more closely with British farmers, it was a pivotal moment for the industry even though it raised as many questions as it answered.
On the surface it seemed to be good news, although some farmers were quick to ask whether it was anything more than a smart PR move. What did he mean when he said he wanted to source meat “closer to home”? How much of it from Ireland? And at what price?
Farmers were rightly cautious given Tesco’s past reputation for heavy-handed tactics. But when, in an advertising campaign, Tesco promises the nation that: “We are the biggest customer of UK agriculture, we need to be their biggest supporters too. This is it. We are changing”, then it is time to seriously sit up and listen.
The soul-searching by retailers over the horsemeat affair has led to grand pledges by most of them to source British – and a spectacular opportunity that has to be grabbed enthusiastically.
Everyone seems to agree that the future is about shorter, less complex supply chains that customers can understand and have confidence in. After years of waiting, Tesco and its competitors are ready to step up UK capacity for meat production because that’s what consumers want and their brand reputation now depends on it.
Rumour has it that Tesco executives, reeling from a decline in trading, were talking internally about “a buy more British commitment” last summer but for some reason delayed. The horsemeat revelations were the catalyst that forced them to take action. The timing is right with the population in England alone set to rise by more than 4.5 million within the next eight years. If we want everyone to have the opportunity to buy British, we have to seize this moment and get prepared right now. With 58p of every retail pound spent in supermarkets, farmers have everything to gain in using their skills to work positively with retailers to build trust and transform relationships.
“Everyone seems to agree that the future is about shorter, less complex supply chains that customers can understand and have confidence in. After years of waiting, Tesco and its competitors are ready to step up UK capacity for meat production because that’s what consumers want and their brand reputation now depends on it.”
There is an awful lot to do as our coverage this week shows. We attempted to get the five biggest supermarkets to share with us how much British meat they buy and their future intentions. Our journalists are a demanding lot and we did not find all the retailers as forthcoming as we would like in providing the detail, particularly in clarifying the split between British and Irish meat. Holding them to account on their claims is something we are determined to do.
Transparency in communication has a long way to go but our research did find that retailers have a good, positive story to tell on some products.
However, there is significant room for improvement on lamb. For example, many of the retailers say they only stock New Zealand lamb when British is not in season – but home-produced is now available all year so that doesn’t quite ring true.
Last week, we reported Tesco’s sustainable pig group initiative, where a proposed base price of 170p/kg appears attractive when compared with current slaughter returns. Probe a bit deeper and the reality is that this price only just covers the cost of production for the most efficient and leaves little room for profit and on-farm investment.
The retailers are offering the hand of partnership and farmers should grab it wholeheartedly if the terms are right. We must ensure their promises are not hollow words but genuine policies that can be achieved together to deliver real and sustainable change for all.
Jane King
Editor
See how the different supermarkets stack up on sourcing British meat
Keep up with the latest news on the horsemate scandal
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