Less than half the pork in Tesco and Asda is British or Scottish.
NFU Scotland has contacted all major supermarkets regarding their support for Scottish and British pig farmers after finding that some retailers have a very high proportion of non-British pork on their shelves.
With the disruption to pork production due to Covid-19, with Scotland’s biggest plant at Brechin shut for two weeks https://www.pig-world.co.uk/news/qpls-brechin-plant-closes-due-to-covid-19-outbreak.html, and exports being more challenging due to Brexit, prices have fallen below the cost of production. With cheaper supplies often being sourced from Europe, NFU Scotland believes that both farmers and consumers deserve reassurances that British and Scottish pork will be readily available on every shop shelf.
NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick said that supermarkets Co-op, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Lidl and Aldi, should be applauded for their commitment to British and Scottish pork whilst Tesco and Asda ” must step up to the plate in these challenging times”.
He explained “The justification for major retailers to back our farmers goes far deeper than the shop shelf. With climate change remaining at the top of the agenda for the foreseeable future, sourcing local sustainable products such as Scottish or British pork will play a valuable part of the solution. That is something consumers want to see, and supermarkets must deliver.”
NFU Scotland will continue to monitor the volumes of Scottish and British pork on shop shelves, and will be in touch with UK processors in the next two weeks to see if orders from supermarkets have improved. NFU will be looking for a significant improvement in availability UK supplies, particularly in Tesco and Asda stores, in the next four weeks when they conduct their next shelfwatch.
