M&S moves to stocking 100% Scotch lamb all year round

Marks & Spencer's commitment to providing only Scotch lamb in its Scottish stores will lead to a demand for an extra 10,000 to 12,000 lamb this season.
No New Zealand lamb will be sold in M&S's Scottish outlets. Picture: Phil WilkinsonNo New Zealand lamb will be sold in M&S's Scottish outlets. Picture: Phil Wilkinson
No New Zealand lamb will be sold in M&S's Scottish outlets. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

Steve McLean, head of agriculture at the retailer, said the move to stocking 100 per cent Scotch lamb had been driven by demand from customers.

He said: “We know that our customers really like to buy regionally-sourced meat, so we have been working hard with our suppliers to find a way to bring them a year-round supply of delicious fresh lamb from Scottish farms.

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“In 2016 we sourced UK lamb for 42 weeks of the year. For 2017, we have not made the switch to New Zealand lamb in our Scottish stores, and instead will supply 100 per cent Scotch lamb throughout the entire year.”

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Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd will procure around half of these additional hoggs for M&S. Chairman Ian Watson said the extra demand was great news for Scottish sheep farmers.

He added: “M&S is to be applauded for making this commitment to our industry; it is now our turn to ensure that we meet its expectations.

“Our field staff are now actively working to procure an additional 5,000-6,000 lambs from our area over and above what we would normally require in the next few months.”

Farm Stock operations manager David Marshall said the additional home demand was particularly good news as the country moved towards Brexit.

Marshall said that lambs for the supermarket had to come from M&S Select Farms, required full Scottish provenance, and would need to be killed at Scotbeef, Bridge of Allan. He added that Scotbeef field staff were also sourcing animals for M&S.